Red with Red
Separating from Natasha was not something Maria wanted to do, and Maria could tell that Natasha was just ‘giving’ her something to do to get her off her case, but Maria being a pragmatic person decided that if Natasha really needed the information she requested, Maria could do her best to get it for her. Maria knew they all had to leave Moscow separately so it would work out. Maria planned to take a flight to Helsinki to go meet Fury who was ‘on vacation’ there with his wife, or, so he claimed, but he had no problem meeting up with Maria who messaged she was ‘nearby.’
Natasha and Yelena were also heading to a new location, though they were driving further out from Moscow it would be a safer area for them, and potentially one with less vermin and far more isolated than here.
Instead of having Maria find a place for them, Nat reached out to Rick Mason again. Maria had better things to do than work out Natasha’s lodgings, and Mason told Natasha he would set her up in an isolated ‘resort.’ Maria rolled her eyes at that remark.
“Don’t worry, I’ll drop you a pin.” Natasha joked to Maria with a smirk as the three of them were getting read to depart. “And if you can’t find us, give up and go skiing with Fury or whatever the hell he’s doing over there.” Natasha laughed at her own snark and Maria was not impressed. Yelena laughed a little though.
“I’m leaving now.” Maria rolled her eyes at Natasha.
“Maria… wait…” Natasha said in a sincere and surprisingly caring tone that made Maria stop and look at her with a bit of surprise. Natasha gave Maria a kind look like she was saying goodbye or wishing her a safe trip. Natasha went to say something but then she stopped and Maria tilted her head at her.
“Uhm.. do… you have any cash?” Natasha asked her and Maria groaned at Natasha’s question as she pulled out her wallet and emptied all the cash out of it and handed it to Natasha who held out her palm for the money. Maria knew Nat and Yelena needed it more than her.
“Are you loaded?” Yelena asked and Maria shook her head no.
“Are you going to pay me back?” Maria asked as she hesitated to hand the cash over to Natasha but Natasha snatched it from her quickly with a smirk.
“You know I’m not.” Natasha folded up the money in her hand and put it in her pocket.
“Be safe.” Maria warned Natasha, but instead of saying it with care she said it like an order as if it was the old days back at SHIELD.
“Yes, Ma’am.” Natasha saluted Maria jokingly and Maria sighed and turned to leave.
“I’ll pay you back if you can find me.” Nat teased with a laugh in her playful mood and Maria turned around and leaned against the door, her hand on the doorknob and she smirked at Natasha.
“I already found you, so consider me here to collect.” Maria pressed her lips together and looked at Natasha with raised brows calling Natasha on her bluff.
Yelena groaned from the sidelines as these two smarmy-flirted in front of her face like they didn’t have important things to do.
“Well, let’s see if those skills are up to par when you aren’t chasing someone ‘rusty.’” Nat grinned.
“Oh, so you admit that you’re below par?” Maria baited.
“Maybe I just pretended to be so I could drag you out of the shadows.” Nat looked away from Maria with a smug smile.
“Oh, because you actually wanted me here?” Maria asked trying to turn Nat’s little set up around on her.
“Mm, I want you here so much that—” “SHUT UP!” Yelena interjected irritated at Natasha and Maria’s endlessly competitive flirting game that was so annoying. Maria and Natasha looked at Yelena surprised.
“Yeah, I’m right here, hello! Hi!” Yelena gestured to herself, were these two women so lost in their own world they forgot she was there? Maria smiled at Yelena and Natasha shook her head.
“Go! Goodbye, have a safe flight, see you later!” Yelena said as she walked over and opened the door for Maria, and Maria moved out of the way so the door didn’t hit her backside. As Maria left, Yelena shut the door behind her and stood in front of it just like Maria had been and she glared at Natasha.
“What?” Natasha shrugged
“You two are like a relationship migraine.”
“We aren’t in a relationship.” Nat reminded.
“Yeah okay little Miss ‘I will pay you back if you can find me,’” Yelena huffed.
“C’mon, that was funny, I was just joking around.” Natasha looked away from Yelena almost embarrassed.
Yelena tilted her head at Nat observing her clothing. Natasha was wearing the dark brown leather jacket that Maria had arrived in, and Maria left in what Yelena had thought was a cropped black leather Moto jacket with silver zippers, it looks like a different jacket on Maria because it hit her so high in the waist, but it did look nice, styled and polished for someone who slept in the dump the three of them shared last night. Then Yelena realized they had switched jackets.
“You switched jackets!” Yelena pointed out.
“What? I like this one. It gives me a little more room to move.”
“Are you two going to be able to work together like professionals?” Yelena scowled at her sister. For a superhero, Natasha sure did seem bogged down in her personal life.
“Yes, we do it all the time.”
“You could have fooled me! What does she think of your hero poses?” Yelena smirked.
“We’re alone, it’s different, and for the final time, I don’t pose.”
“Alone!?” Yelena gestured to herself.
“I mean, not alone, but we’re not at work. That’s all I mean. I can be myself with you, you should feel honored.”
“Weird, because I just feel like I have a headache.” Yelena rolled her eyes as she walked away from the door.
“That’s actually what honor feels like.” Nat smirked to herself as Yelena walked past her giving Nat a little side eye and the two of them got ready for their drive.
As Natasha gathered her few things to leave she suddenly had a stark realization dawn on her, she thought the reason she wanted Maria away from this mess was to protect her, but suddenly she realized Maria getting close to her past meant Maria was going to learn about some really horrifyingly dark things she had done. Maria knew some things about what happened in Budapest, but Clint and Natasha kept the more horrifying details to themselves. Natasha had no reservations about killing Dreykov or attempting to, but using his child as a trigger for the bombing that definitely killed her, that was going to be hard to explain and if Dreykov was still alive it was probably going to come out. Natasha was really ashamed of it. Even though she played it confident when Yelena called her out on it. ‘She needed her, she had to kill Dreykov’s daughter to be sure he was there.’ That’s what she said in the moment, that’s what she told herself over and over again in her head, but as she said it out loud to Yelena when they first reconnected but Natasha’s confidence in this decision wavered, she realized it was wrong, she knew it was wrong then but she couldn’t explain why she made that calculated intentional decision. She remembered Yelena as a young child and Natasha thought about what Yelena must’ve thought when she learned that Natasha killed Dreykov’s daughter. Natasha felt a drop in her chest as the gravity of her past decision really started to weigh on her between the two most important women in her life. Natasha called Antonia collateral damage, that she had be sure she killed Dreykov and that’s why she had to die too, but as Yelena said … now Natasha wasn’t sure Dreykov was dead at all, so did all Natasha do was kill his child? In return, Dreykov just made life so much worse for the widows, no escape, nothing, that’s what Yelena suggested anyway, all because of Natasha and it was hard for her to take. Natasha knew she had to finish him if he was still alive.
Yelena didn’t know where the Red Room was, but she did vaguely know about the external mind control capabilities that were inflicted on the widows after Natasha’s departure. From the information that Yelena gave her, and from what she could make out Natasha wondered about that mission twenty one years ago with Alexei and the rest of her fake family. Natasha had put together that the Red Room stole something from SHIELD way back when but she was never able to find out what. That’s what Maria was going to help figure out. Fury was at SHIELD way back then, maybe he knew something that Natasha didn’t, and he was far more likely to tell it to Maria than anyone else.
————————
Maria waited for Fury in a Finnish sushi restaurant that Fury suggested a few miles away from the Helsinki airport. Maria rarely traveled using her real name and identity for safety reasons, she just never knew when someone might be looking for her, and those people probably were not well intentioned if they were.
Maria was seated at a table in the nearly empty restaurant, it had over the top Japanese decor, and other asian cultures sprinkled in, all the servers were white though and it looked like everyone behind the sushi counter was a pale blonde Finnish person. Maria made a questionable face to herself as she wondered what on earth this place was a front for and how Fury even knew about it.
Finally, Fury arrived, he waltzed in the place like he owned it, he had nothing low-key about his presence. He walked right over to the booth where Maria was sitting. Maria stood up as he walked over and the two of them exchanged a glance wondering if they should hug. Maria laughed as it was clear they were both thinking about it, and so they embraced lightly and sat down. The last time they talked they found themselves, personally, on opposing sides of this split with the Avengers, which shocked both of them. They both knew it was better not to get involved.
“Just you?” Maria asked surprised, she was expecting to see Fury and Priscilla since they were vacationing together, at least that’s what Fury had said.
“What am I not enough for you?” Fury laughed “Just me, for now.” Fury shrugged.
“Interesting choice of venue.” Maria mumbled as they both sat back down at the table.
“You don’t want your sushi from the Baltic Sea?”
“It’s very fresh!” One of the white men who had been behind the counter had come over to bring them both menus and the blonde man stared at Fury like he was very out of place here and Maria picked up on it and laughed.
“It’s fresh and authentic.” The man said as he dropped off the menus that had no English on them.
“Authentic Finnish sushi?” Maria asked curiously trying not to sound rude.
“The owner of this restaurant studied under the great Jiro Ono in Japan… in an online master class course that he took while visiting the country.” The Finnish man said that last part quickly and it took great strength for Maria not to laugh as she heard what this man said and she looked at Fury who was grinning at this exchange.
“Do you know what you want to order?”
“I’ll take the chef’s special.” Fury said confidently with a smirk at Maria. Maria’s jaw was open, her lips curled upward unsure of how to even answer.
“I’ll just have some tea, for now.. thanks.” As the worker left Maria glared at Fury.
“What is this place?” Maria said quietly.
“I figured it was somewhere safe to test the waters to talk.” Fury shrugged quietly and he was right, the place was empty, except for one other customer who had come in during the exchange between Maria and the worker. You had to either be insane or a tailing someone to come in here.
“I cant believe you ordered food.” Maria mumbled.
“He took a master class, Maria. Give the man a chance.” Fury joked and Maria laughed and she shook her head.
“What are you doing out here?” Maria asked changing the subject.
“Driving around Europe, seeing the sights, I got a new car to show off.”
“Oh, god.” Maria rolled her eyes. “A midlife crisis purchase?”
“I am way past the middle of my life, the end is coming any day, really.” Fury said with a laugh and Maria shook her head no.
“You say that but you’re probably going to outlive all of us.” Maria smiled.
“You want to come tell that theory to Priscilla, so she stops making me eat grapefruit and vegetables and egg whites.” Fury groaned.
“No.” Maria answered quickly.
“I mean, If I am going to live forever…” Fury bragged and then coughed a little undercutting himself.
“I definitely did not say forever.” Maria was quick to correct him but Fury had a little smirk on his face.
“Did he order anything?” Fury asked quietly referencing the person who came in and Maria had been watching him out of the side of her eye.
“Not yet.” Maria whispered.
“What do you think?” Fury’s voice was low and barely audible.
“Someone has to be in the market for Finnish sushi at 11 AM on a Tuesday.” Maria rolled her eyes and Fury grinned and the two exchanged glances.
Fury dropped some euros the food and Maria’s tea on the table just as the worker returned and brought Maria that tea she asked for. Maria and Fury got up to leave. The worker who dropped off his tea turned his head at Fury and Fury pat him on the back like they were good friends.
“You can send my chef’s special to that fine gentleman over there, something came up.” Fury whispered.
“Okay, one chicken teriyaki going to table 2.” The worker grumbled and went back behind the sushi counter and Maria’s eyes widened at that being the special.
“What is this place.” she asked under her breath.
“Let me give you a ride.” Fury offered kindly and Maria knew it was just to show off his new car.
Maria left with Fury as they both sensed they couldn’t talk in there, Fury had purposefully picked a place he didn’t think anyone would venture in for a legitimate visit. And he and Priscilla had noticed a few curious folks around them over the last few days. Fury walked Maria over to his car and held the door open to the passenger seat for her like a gentleman.
“Unless you want to drive?” Fury joked Maria observed the car.
“It doesn’t look fast enough for me.” Maria smirked as she got I the car and Fury shook his head.
“It’s very fast.” He mumbled as he shut the door and got in the driver’s seat. He turned the car on and stared to pull out and drive away. Maria kept watch in the mirrors for any potential tails.
“I heard from Secretary Ross a few times.” Fury started and Maria made a face.
“What did he have to say?” Maria groaned as she figured she already knew.
“He reminded or warned me about the severe consequences of helping any ‘rogue’ Avengers and he guaranteed criminal prosecution to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Not really the threat he thinks it is when we’re outside of his jurisdiction.” Maria mumbled unbothered and Fury smirked at her as he drove slowly down the street.
“He’s going after Carter hard for helping Rogers and Wilson and then fleeing.” Fury added and Maria groaned again.
“Ross is wondering where you are, too.” Fury said more directly to make sure Maria understood that Ross’s warnings were not vague. “He knows you’re close with Rogers, even Romanoff. He knows you rescued them before. Are you staying out of it?” Fury cautioned.
“I am not helping anyone evade accountability.” Maria answered vaguely yet confidently and Fury could tell she was telling the truth but still being dodgy about the specifics. Maria was being honest, she wasn’t involved in the sides of the Sokovia Accords, she was doing something personal—completely unrelated to that specific thing.
“Are you helping Carter?”
“No, but someone might want to look into that, it’s not the best idea to leave allies stranded in the dust.” Maria muttered mostly to herself.
“So, Ross has people following you?” Maria asked.
“That’s my guess.” He responded quickly and Maria made a face because she wondered if she went to find Natasha if Ross’s goons might follow her too.
“You couldn’t have sent me a warning?” Maria asked a little annoyed.
“I suggested a Finnish sushi restaurant….” Fury muttered and the two of them exchanged a brief glance and Maria sighed, that is what she figured when they went there, so she guessed he did send her a hint in a casual way.
Maria shot Nick a look of concern, she pointed to their tail in the rear view mirror approaching them as Nick pulled over to the side of the road. Maria opened the glove box instinctively where she knew he had a gun but Nick shut it quickly shaking his head no at her and Maria felt a little uneasy for a moment as the she looked at Nick and then she noticed the tail was gone as she looked in the side mirror. Instead, Maria saw someone familiar starting to get in the back of Fury’s car, Priscilla Fury.
Maria looked at Fury squinting at him as Priscilla slid right into the back of the car.
Maria looked between the two Furys with a raised brow.
“How you doing, Maria?” Priscilla asked with a grin.
“Are you tailing Nick because you think we’re up to something?” Maria asked.
“No, we spotted some interesting folks a few days ago and we really don’t appreciate someone following us around on our vacation.” Priscilla said with a smirk. “So, I knocked him out for a minute and got into his phone.” Priscilla held up a SHIELD style device where she uploaded the tail’s phone to so they could see what he was doing and what he had done.
“I thought you were retired.” Maria questioned Priscilla.
“I’m never retired from protecting my family, dear.” Priscilla responded with a kind assuring confidence. Priscilla had her own reasons for wanting their tracker handled swiftly and quickly, she had her own secrets she was keeping and she didn’t have time for Ross or whoever was behind this to blow things up for her.
Priscilla started to look through the photos in the phone she copied and just as she suspected, there were some of her and Fury and a few photos of Maria and Fury in the restaurant. There were more of Fury and Priscilla in Finland together and Priscilla looked angry as she went through them.
“Did he send anything to anyone?” Fury asked and Priscilla uses her phone to go through the tracker’s phone.
“Some of us together yesterday went to a fake New York number, which looks like it’s the real number it went to is local for DC.” Priscilla answered to Fury and Fury made an irritated face. Messing with him while he was spending time with is wife was not forgivable, Fury picked up his phone immediately to call Ross and then he handed Maria a device and she started working on it instantly without any verbal communication.
“Thaddeus.” Fury said coldly instead of addressing him formally.
“Mr. Fury, to what do I owe this pleasure of hearing from you?” Ross emphasized the formality and Maria smirked to herself as she heard ‘mister’ Fury as did Priscilla. “I can only assume this call means that you have some news for me on some of your former team members who have decided to evade justice recently?”
“I don’t know a thing about that, Thad, but I did happen to find a curious American male, following me, recording my whereabouts and documenting them to another American, while I am on a vacation for the first time in thirty years.” Fury gave the game up right away.
“Is this really a time for you to be away? You brought these superhuman together to wreak havoc all over the world, and now we need you to bring them together again to sign the Accords, and you are no where to be found, what a surprise. I’m sure your vacation can wait a few more weeks until these issues are resolved with two of the most notorious Avengers on the run.” Ross said hatefully.
Fury scoffed.
“The Avengers are their own people, they make their own decisions, I told you I wasn’t getting involved. My people aren’t getting involved.”
“I’m trying to help them Fury, I really, really am. I know they don’t believe me, but this is the best solution to this problem. Do you want the Avengers dragged before the International Criminal Court? Do you want to be before it? They’re destroying cities, killing innocent people and never looking back and only half of them can show remorse and the others feel like they can’t be held accountable for their actions? We both know Romanoff is nothing but a criminal whose only loyalty is to herself, her only ideals are to save herself, and if this doesn’t prove it to you, I don’t know what will. But I’ve got a whole list of crimes that she can be tied to and I got her friends and they are willing to talk to save themselves. That’s really the sad thing about this group, in the end they were never really a team, were they? They never came together, you couldn’t even do that Fury, and now you have the chance and you’re mysteriously unavailable.” Ross droned on.
“When you are saving the world casualties happen, all the Avengers, they all want to save lives.”
“It sounds like you did pick a side, Fury.” Ross growled.
Maria rolled her eyes to herself as she listened to this man talk about the Avengers and specifically his words on Natasha.
“I know you always had the best intentions with this little project of yours, I am on your team, Fury, believe it or not. I know it doesn’t look like it, or feel like it. But I want a safe world, I know the debt the Avengers are owed, but they need to be reigned in, if they cannot be governed they cannot be functioning. What were you thinking? Of course this would happen. Come fix your mess.”
“I don’t know too many people on my team that spy on me…” Fury grumbled.
“They aren’t really tracking you.” Ross slipped up, they were looking for the people Fury was talking to, to see if he was helping Rogers or Romanoff.
“They?” Fury asked in a raised tone, “let me tell you something Mr. Secretary, if I see another one of your little spies near me, or my family, they won’t be coming back to you. Am I clear?” Fury threatened.
“You did not just threaten” —- “I did.” Fury cut Ross off immediately “and I don’t make empty threats.” Fury sounded cross and serious.
“Fury, I swear to god, if you are protecting them…” Ross growled.
“I am on vacation, Mr. Secretary, and as I have said, me, and my people, are not involved in this mess you have caused!”
“Your.. people.. THE AVENGERS ARE YOUR PEOPLE.” Ross shouted back, what the hell was wrong with Fury!
“Take some responsibility and accountability for your past work and get back here and bring the ones on the run back to answer for their mistakes. Talk about following by example, of course they would run off and hide just like you, since you sure do love to go on the run and hide from your messes and leave everyone else to clean it up.” Ross huffed.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Fury dismissive with a scoff.
“You got friends and people you care about that I don’t want to bother, but if I think I need to get a message to you, don’t you dare think I won’t use whatever means I have in my power to make their lives miserable.” Ross threatened Fury in a sinister tone.
Maria and Fury exchanged a quick glance and Maria nodded that she was all set and Fury looked confident, he smirked to one side of his face.
“Thaddeus, are you threatening innocent people who are associated with me just to make a point?” Fury asked.
“If that’s what it takes to get the message across, you bet Fury.”
“What do you think the President is going to think about that?” Fury asked with a snicker.
“He wants me to reel those fugitives in with whatever means necessary, and it’s your word against mine.”
“I guess I’ll ask him what he thinks.”
“You’ll sound and look like a fool, even more than you already do.” Ross snickered.
“I don’t know about that…”
Maria played Ross’s threat to Fury back to Ross and they all listened to Ross threaten Fury’s friends just because he could and him dare Fury to do anything about it.
“You’re recording me! That’s a crime!”
“Not in Finland, it’s not.” Fury snickered and Maria smirked to herself.
“Fury.” Ross grumbled in a sharp tone. “I am your friend!”
“Better watch out then, the Secretary of State just threatened my friends.” Fury smiled now he was just putting on a show for Maria and Priscilla, winning points with his wit.
Priscilla tapped Fury on the back of his head to wrap it up.
“Look, I’ll take you at your word Fury, and I’ll call off my people for now, and we can keep this between us, even split.” Ross caved as he knew what he said sounded really bad.
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I’ll take the offer because this call is taking up too much of my time.” Fury sighed.
“Don’t double cross me.” Ross growled and hung up in a rage.
The three of them sat there in silence for a moment.
“Did you just blackmail the Secretary of State?” Priscilla asked Fury and Maria made a face.
“And he hacked his phone.” Maria added in.
“I believe you did that.” Fury glared at Maria.
“Are you two just making it worse?”
“He’s not going to know.” Maria mumbled.
“Does that make it right?” Priscilla asked trying to give the two of them a moment of clarity, despite having done the same thing herself.
“I’m just holding him to his word.” Fury shrugged like it was no big deal.
“I am protecting you.” Fury looked over his shoulder at Priscilla, “and Maria.” He added in.
“And yourself…” Maria pointed out and Priscilla and Maria laughed and Fury shook his head no at the two of them.
Maria and Fury watched the screen that was watching in realtime what Ross was doing on the other end.
“He just called off his boys.” Maria said with an eye roll as she read the messages from Ross telling his team to leave Fury alone ‘for now.’
“For now.” Fury emphasized.
“Alright, what did you want to talk about?” Fury asked and Maria paused because now she forgot for a moment that she was actually here with Fury for a reason and not just falling back into her old ways of helping him.
“Drive back to the hotel, Fury.” Priscilla demanded.
“What do you think of this stupid car?” Priscilla asked Maria.
“Hey! It’s a nice car.” Fury defended.
“It’s not very fast…” Maria snidely remarked again.
“It is very fast!” Fury exclaimed as he drove off at a meager and legally justifiable speed.
“You two don’t know anything about cars.” Fury scoffed to himself as he lightly sped up which made the two of them laugh.
Back at Fury and Priscilla’s hotel room which was a surprisingly luxurious suite, decorated with plants blocking most of the windows, but filtering the sunlight into the room delicately. Everything was very clean, there was a kitchenette, multiple rooms, a dining area, a living space, very swanky bathrooms that were vastly different from the run down apartment living Natasha, Yelena, and Maria experienced last night.
“Is it your anniversary or something?” Maria asked although she wasn’t too surprised by the room considering both Fury and Priscilla’s tastes but she wondered the occasion.
“It’s our first vacation in 30 years…” Priscilla reminded with a smirk.
“And you picked Finland?” Maria asked skeptically.
“I love the cold.” Priscilla smirked “and we’re traveling north to go see the northern lights. I hoping they will be especially green when we get there.”
Maria smiled.
“I hope they’re gorgeous.” Maria said.
“They better be, considering how long it’s going take us to get there.” Fury mumbled as he sat down at the table leaning back in the chair, in a dad like fashion.
“He gets to drive his brand new car and he’s complaining.”
“That sounds right.” Maria smirked to herself.
“I heard that.” Fury looked up from his phone giving Maria a look upward while his head was still tilted down and Maria sat down across from him while Priscilla started some tea in the kitchenette.
“Well, how much time of my vacation are you planning to spend with us?” Fury asked Maria in a teasing way.
“You can go back to work and I’ll drive Priscilla up to the Northern lights.” Maria snarked and Fury gave her a ‘get on with it’ look but with a fatherly type way like when a daughter is being a pain but the father feels obligated to hear her out.
Maria got a buzz on her phone and she checked it quickly it was GPS coordinates from an unknown number, Maria assumed it was from Natasha and then she looked at Fury.
“Well, something come in you want to share.”
“Have you ever heard of the north institute?” Maria asked abruptly and Fury put his phone done on the table and glared at her.
“Why are you asking about that?”
“I’m working on something.”
“That I don’t know about?” Fury asked the skepticism dripping from his voice.
“Yes.”
“Do you care to enlighten me on it?”
“I don’t.”
“Why is that?”
“Because, I will when I think I should.”
“So, you want me to tell you something and I don’t get any information in return?”
“Yes.” Maria answered confidently, Fury didn’t know it but really she was trying to protect him with Ross sniffing around.
“Well, if you think the less I know the better… then… the North Institute was a SHIELD facility that studied cognitive research, of course we later learned that it was staffed by HYDRA agents who were using the research to enhance the Winter Soldier and other mind control programs until it was burned down and looted in 1995 by what we believe were Russian spies.”
“They looted the facility?” Maria asked curiously.
“They didn’t want us to know what they were after specifically, so they stole and destroyed a great deal of data and research.”
“And the facility only did research on cognitive ability?”
“That’s what I learned through my own work, I don’t know for sure, believe it or not I was kind of busy with another project in 1995.” Priscilla and Fury exchanged a sweet look to one another as Fury said this.
“What do you think they stole? Something to control their own Winter Soldier program?” Maria asked.
“Widows.” Priscilla answered as she came over the table and brought Maria and herself a tea, Fury looked at Priscilla funny. “There’s only two clean mugs.” Priscilla smirked.
Maria took a sip of the tea but she immediately covered her mouth as she was shocked from the taste of it.
“Oh, it’s green tea.” Priscilla warned a moment too late. She just liked the taste better, it was just ironic that it was also considered green tea.
“Of course it is.” Maria nodded and Fury laughed at her.
“Dreykov got the research from SHIELD, which was really Hydra, destroyed it and deployed the stolen research on the Widows?” Maria asked.
Fury shook his head no and Priscilla shook hers yes.
“The widows went through psychological conditioning, what this Hydra program was trying to do was physical control even if the mind hadn’t been trained yet.” Fury explained. “Honestly, Dreykov destroying Hydra’s ability to get this research off the ground right have been a good thing, you know, whoever controls the world… controls the world.” Fury said in a very Fury like manner.
“He did psychological conditioning back then, but what about now?” Maria asked not even realizing what she was saying.
Fury and Priscilla both looked at Maria with an almost concerned look, Maria was very aware that Natasha and Clint took down Dreykov and the Red Room with him in 2008. It was a hectic mission that officiated Romanoff’s introduction into SHIELD.
“It’s over, the Red Room was put to rest, Dreykov is dead.” Fury reminded and Maria made a face but she didn’t say anything, which was a bit unusual for her and Fury picked up on it immediately.
“He’s dead.” Fury emphasized.
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean the data is dead, doesn’t mean the Red Room is gone.” Maria shrugged obviously Fury had to be aware that a program like that could go on with a new leader.
“Do you have something you want to tell me?” Fury said in a more serious ‘out with out’ tone.
“Hill, if the Red Room went on, SHIELD would have known, the skrulls would have known, and hell, Hydra would have known.” Fury dismissed.
“We didn’t even know SHIELD was infiltrated by Hydra and it was happening right in front of our faces so…” Maria dismissed right back and Priscilla couldn’t help but laugh at Maria calling Fury out.
“And why has the Red Room or General Dreykov piqued your interest so suddenly?” Fury asked in an almost accusatory tone.
“Are you getting tangled up in a widow’s web?” Priscilla asked.
“I’m not.” Maria answered not as confidently as she usually did.
“What exactly are you up to? I don’t want Ross dragging you into this mess. He’s trying to force our hand, he wants to pull at your sympathy while Rhodes is in the hospital recovering, if you start aligning yourself…” Fury tried to warn.
Maria squinted at Fury, she was pretty upset about what happened to Rhodes, it was an accident, but if it hadn’t hit Rhodes it would have hit Sam, both outcomes were bad. The fighting each other never should have happened and for people like Ross who were watching it emphasized why the Accords were needed and it really undercut the claim that the Avengers could govern themselves.
The issue was for Fury and Maria about the Accords, is that both sides were justified with their concerns, the Sovokia Accords made sense if they were applied to people like Tony and Rhodes, people who chose to be heroes, and as Maria recalled, Tony was rather reckless at times, he was extremely impulsive and he made decisions in the now and not always with a lot of perspective. Sure, he won and usually he was right, but it came with a lot of damage.
For Cap, it was totally different, from his era he fought governments abusing power and manipulating people and experimenting on them forcing them to be instruments of a government’s will for good or bad. After the fall of SHIELD and Maria learning of its infiltration by Hydra, she was personally on Captain America’s side, she was the one at the table telling Fury, ‘he’s right’ to get Fury on board to bring down all of SHIELD. Maria found herself far more aligned with Cap on this issue too, she didn’t really trust the government right now, if people she had known for decades were secretly Hydra working right next to her and she had no idea, how many more were out there in other agencies? The Accords were ripe for manipulation by bad actors, yet after what happened with Rhodes getting hurt by someone on his own team, it made Maria question her own thoughts on the matter, and she realized Tony had good points too. Really, she knew hers thoughts were not relevant at all on the matter but she couldn’t help thinking about the way Natasha turned sides from Tony to Cap and how Maria herself felt similarly that situation was very nuanced.
Interestingly, Fury, who had almost been assassinated by the government—well Hydra pretending to be the government, was so overwhelmed by the impact of his Avengers initiative taking on a life of its own and costing so many of the lives he was trying to save, he found himself aligning with Tony Stark—-a man he had great competition with, although he respected him deeply. There was a great cost to Fury’s little initiative when it came to full fruition. When he saw the devastating price the everyday people were paying for the destruction that the Avengers inevitably caused. This wasn’t what he meant, or wanted, there wasn’t any accountability or oversight and Fury was surprised when he Maria first talked about it that they were on opposite sides of each other. If anyone would have been for oversight and accountability it would be Maria Hill, and yet when they discussed it, Fury realized it was far more complicated than just that. It was a complex issue with both sides raising things that needed to be addressed. It would be nice if these superhuman adults could do it without hurting each other or taking over European airports or becoming fugitives… but it’s the Avengers so should they really expect anything different?
As Maria pointed out to Fury the first time the Accords came up, Tony had a lot to lose for not going forward with the Accords and Maria had to wonder if he had more than guilt and personal failings driving his decision, he had a company with major contracts and Ross could go after his business, or Pepper, but it did seem like Tony was acting out of deep guilt for his past actions as a personal reckoning. Steve already had that reckoning and he didn’t have as much to lose by going against it and Steve was also acting from a place of deep emotion, protecting the one person who connected him to his past who could understand him and his experiences. Still both situations, a corrupt government controlling the Avengers, or an Avenger going rogue due to a vendetta or their own misguided beliefs would be chaos, and if those are your choices why align with either side, and that’s what Maria and Fury decided to do, both sides were right about some things, and both were wrong about others, where the two of them fell personally didn’t matter and Fury wanted to be sure to keep both himself and Maria out of it at all costs.
He wasn’t sure what Maria was doing on her own time, but he suspected she was in contact with someone she shouldn’t be. She never lied to Fury, but she sometimes was quieter about what she was doing when she was getting on the trail of something, but not because she didn’t want to include him. If she wasn’t sharing the information with Fury, he knew she was doing it to protect him. He was supposed to protect her, not the other way around, yet time and and time again so many close calls Fury had, Maria was the one that helped him slip away safely. She had always been an independent deputy, it was something he always liked about her, sure she fell in line when appropriate but she pushed back the right amount too. When he first started working with her, over ten years ago he thought she was a by the book stickler for the rules type with a very intense desire to please authority figures. He had been so wrong. She actually held a great power in her ability to be so easily misread and discounted by others, the people that didn’t know her would write her off and never suspect her. She was also the smartest person he had ever met, and he knew a lot of smart people. He had to trust her, so he didn’t push back.
“Well, thanks for the help, have a nice vacation.” Maria said as she got up.
“Do you know anyone in the Moscow area who can hook me up with a car for a drive?” Maria asked Priscilla.
“Why are you asking her and not me?” Fury said with shock, Priscilla knew exactly why, to keep Fury from being tied to her, was he too dumb to see that or was his ego just that sensitive.
“Yes.” Priscilla grabbed Maria’s hands as she stood next to her. “Go visit my friend Ebo, at the Bonvoy hotel, ask for him by name and tell him Varra sent you, and you’re looking for a safe way home.” Priscilla said with care sending Maria to a fellow skrull, someone Varra trusted.
“What were you going to do? Send her to a car rental place?” Priscilla asked giving Fury a smirk.
“Or a quinjet…” Fury grumbled. C’mon he was still relevant he could get stuff.
“Goodbye, sorry for interrupting.” Maria said as she left the two of them to continue their time together but Fury still looked skeptical as Maria left.
“Now what in the world…” Fury started.
“That girl is protecting you, again.” Priscilla said sipping her tea unbothered.
“She’s not listening to me anymore…” Fury groaned.
“They just grow up so fast, don’t they?” Priscilla teased and Fury shot a look at Priscilla and then shook his head to himself.
Maria returned on a flight back to Moscow without issue. She found her way to Priscilla’s friend, and she was able to arrange a car from him so she could get to Natasha. Ebo knew she was coming from Priscilla. As Maria left the Russian hotel and walked into the parking garage from the lobby, a sign on the elevator instructed patrons to use the stairs as the elevator was broken. Maria sighed as she found her way to the parking garage stairwell, narrow, concrete, in a drab, gray isolated stairwell.
As Maria walked down the stairs she held the keys in her hand, the stairwell was so quiet, and surprisingly dim for this time of day and it put Maria on alert. She heard one of the doors from a flight she had passed above her open, and some rushed steps and Maria stopped briefly trying to asses but then she heard the exit door open from a flight below her. Was it a coincidence or was she about to be trapped? Maria instinctively put her hand on her gun, Ebo just gave her one she hadn’t had one earlier because she was flying commercially. As Maria saw the man rushing up the stairs toward her she did turn instinctively to move up the stairs but another man was coming down them quickly blocking her way intentionally. The man coming down her stairs could see Maria’s hand on her handle.
“Whoa, whoa, we’re all friends here.” He cautioned but Maria could sense they weren’t.“Secretary Ross just wants to talk… and I would talk to him, before you get accidentally outed to some Russian authority.. I don’t think they think too kindly of you sneaking in and out of their country.”
Maria looked at him in disbelief, that he wouldn’t dare out a fellow US operative in a hostile foreign nation.
“I mean, if you’re held up here you’re kind out of our way… so… choose wisely…” he continued in a smug tone and Maria looked to the second operative who was being strangely quiet.
———————————————————————
Late in the afternoon hours outside of Moscow..
Natasha and Yelena pulled up to a secluded country residence that Mason arranged for them. Natasha made her way inside and it was substantially better than the little rough city apartment the hid in last night.
“Working hard?” Natasha said kicking the bed in the isolated small house out in the distant suburbs far from Moscow. Natasha and Yelena got themselves there as Mason was setting it up for them. It had been quite a few hours of them driving to get here, and Maria confirmed she was on her way.
Mason woke up form the kick.
“You found it.” He said a bit groggy.
“Yeah, the door wasn’t even locked and imagine my surprise when a man was asleep in my bed.” Nat rolled her eyes.
“I’m waiting for my payment.” Mason said getting up.
“For sleeping?” Nat asked.
“Pay the man.” Yelena said.
“You still haven’t paid me for the first place I set you up in.” Mason reminded.
“The place where the generator stopped working after six hours…?” Natasha was reluctant to consider that place even set up, like hell she was going to pay for it.
“Wow, yours made it a full six hours? You’re lucky.” Mason joked.
“Are you even good at this job?” Nat asked and Mason walked around her giving her a look up and down.
“I’m superb for paying customers.”
Natasha pulled the cash Maria gave her out of her pocket, what was left of it and handed it to Rick.
Rick looked at it not very pleased.
“Hey that’s a lot of money.” Yelena pointed out.
“In your destitute on the run world, maybe.” Mason rolled his eyes.
“I will get more money, okay?” Natasha clarified.
“How?”
“Are you going to be able to come through for me?” Nat asked seriously stepping in close to Mason.
“Yeah, you know I will, I just, I am limited if I don’t have funds.” Rick reminded.
“I promise you will get paid, I will not hang you out to dry, I don’t do that.” Natasha sighed.
“How are you going to pay me if you are prison?”
“Well, get me what I ask for, and I will stay out of prison and you will get paid. Deal?” Natasha held out her hand and Rick sighed and he held out his hand and they shook on it.
“What’s the vermin situation here?” Yelena asked Rick.
“Minimal, probably…” Rick answered as he looked around, the house was clean, it looked like a small town home, it had some nice things in it, they could cook real food if they bought some, the water, heat, electricity worked. It was private. And Mason even stored some gifts for them in the basement for security. They’d be okay here, as safe as they could be in Russia.
Mason left once Nat and Yelena were settled and the two of them sat down on the couch exhausted.
“Did you tell her where we were for real?” Yelena asked.
“Yeah..” Natasha mumbled even surprising herself.
“You trust her right?”
“One of the few I always will.” Nat said easily without even thinking about it.
“No one has ever come looking for me.” Yelena said out of the blue.
“What?”
“She came all the way here looking for you, to help you, make sure you were okay. No one has ever done that for me.” Yelena said sadly. “The people who look for me, they don’t care about me.”
“I’ll look for you.”
“You didn’t.” Yelena shot back quickly.
“I didn’t think you wanted to see me.”
“Maybe you should have asked.”
“You’re right, I should have.”
“You’ll come find me next time? You mean it?”
“I won’t let you disappear, again.” Natasha said sincerely and Yelena smiled, it was really the only time, besides when she was very little that she heard say someone say something deeply caring to her, sure she had to prompt it, but she could tell Natasha meant it.
Hours later Maria arrived and she told Yelena and Natasha about what Fury said, that Dreykov stole SHIELD or Hydra research that enabled physical control of the body without controlling one’s mind, and that was the data that was destroyed and taken from the North Institute. Yelena glared at Natasha with an ‘i told you so’ type of look as it came out. Natasha realized that even if they could free the minds of the widows, they might not be able to free their physical bodies unless they got more help. Natasha sighed this was going to be a big multi-step process.
After Yelena went to bed, in her own room on an actual bed and not a rotten couch Maria quietly told Natasha that there was someone that could help them nearby and Natasha looked intrigued. She was going to wake up Yelena but Maria shook her head no, telling Natasha it would be quick and they would be right back. Natasha and Maria left quietly not waking Yelena up. Natasha noticed that Maria was no longer wearing Natasha’s jacket, and she didn’t recognize the clothes she was wearing now. Maria’s hair was pulled back like the way she used to wear it at SHIELD, not wearing it down like she usually did now. She seemed much more serious since she returned. Natasha assumed Maria was just tired from the hectic day of travel.
As Maria and Natasha waded in the darkness into an abandoned warehouse, Natasha followed Maria’s lead without question.
“Are you sure you want to do this? You sure he’s out there? You don’t think this is a trap?” Maria asked again quietly as the two of them approached.
“I have to know he’s not out there, I have to be sure.” Natasha answered and Maria nodded at her as the two of them stealthily entered the dark building, they made it into a storage area, that had a shiny concrete floor stained with red. Natasha could see the red so brightly despite it being so dark in the warehouse. It was like peering out at her, as she walked, she realized the red stains on the ground were blood and some of it was still wet as Natasha could see foot prints following her, but not Maria. Natasha grabbed onto Maria to have her stop moving. She shook her head no and gestured to floor. Maria tilted her head she didn’t see anything. Natasha looked back to the floor and the bright red stains seemed so faded barely noticeable now.
Maria stopped the two of them.
“Okay..” She said quietly as they both waited in the dark, the warehouse was only lit by red emergency lights, marked in Russian words for ‘exit.’ Natasha looked at them and noticed how the lights so drastically illuminated the side of the room she was on, but barely did on the side Maria was.
“Who are we waiting for?” Natasha asked as she and Maria stood there and Natasha was taking the whole place in, and she suddenly felt a bit sick. Maria turned her head slowly to Natasha and the expression of pain in her face Natasha wasn’t expecting. Maria pressed her lips together and she shook her head for a brief moment like she needed to apologize.
“You’re waiting for me!” Ross said as he entered the room and his men surrounded the inside of the building blocking Natasha from leaving.
“I’m so sorry.” Maria said quietly her voice cracking and Natasha gasped as the guns were pointed on her by the dozens of men keeping her in place. Natasha felt a sharp pain in her chest as she gasped at this betrayal. She still couldn’t believe it as it was happening she gasped for air as her eyes started to water. She didn’t understand. How could Maria do this?
“I tried to warn you it was a trap.” Maria mumbled. Natasha turned to run toward the back exit but then through the shadowy officers blocking the exit, Clint appeared, aiming an arrow right at Natasha.
Natasha looked at Clint and then back at Maria, she didn’t understand what was happening, these were the two people she trusted the most.
“How could you?” Natasha finally said her lip quivering, as the unbearable weight of this moment felt like it was crushing her internally. Maria’s expression changed from an apologetic one to one of anger and distaste as she squinted at Natasha, shaking her head like she had no sympathy for her.
“I told you, you didn’t have any friends.” Ross snickered at Natasha’s shock.
“As it turns out, even the people you care about the most, will sell you out to save the people they really love, their actual families.” Ross gloated and looked at Natasha pitifully, Natasha’s jaw dropped. “And all the truth about you, and who you really are just starts pouring out of them when they are left with the choice of themselves over you.” Ross sounded so smug. Natasha had gloated on the phone with him before now Natasha was trapped, with the help of Clint and Maria? She couldn’t believe it.
“Why would you do this?” Natasha turned to Maria.
“You killed a child.” Maria said with disgust and Natasha went to step backward in shock but she froze as the guns moved on her.
“What!” Natasha gasped as Maria said those words to her face.
“You killed a child, you saw her in the window, you saw her enter the building and you still blew it up. You blew it up because she went in there. It wasn’t an accident like Tony or the others, you did it with vengeance on purpose, of your own choice, not because Dreykov made you.” Maira said like she was pained to described it and so disgusted to learn it.
“I had to.” Natasha barely defended herself, she had no ounce of conviction in her words, the shame was clear.
“You had to do nothing, you could have redirected her, stopped her, asked her if Dreykov was inside and kept her out. What did she ever do but just be born?” Maria admonished Natasha.
“No! It was .. I.. ” Natasha shook her head as she couldn’t explain this past decision that weighed on her so much, how did Maria know this, all of this?
“You weren’t being controlled by Dreykov, or the Red Room, you did it, yourself, with your own mind. You saw a little a girl, just as helpless as Yelena was, or you were back then and you gave the signal anyway knowing she would die just because of her who her father was. Do you want to go back in time to when I was a child and kill me for having a cruel father?” Maria asked with hate.
“No, Maria stop, please.” Natasha was devastated, the events of Budapest haunted her like no other, hearing Maria destroy her hatefully over it was causing her pain she didn’t even think she could feel.
“You think the world wants someone who murders children on purpose as an Avenger? You think I care about betraying someone who chooses to kill kids? Do you really think I or Clint would protect someone who slaughters innocent little girls?” Maria practically snickered at the suggestion. “What would Steve say? What about Bruce?” Maria asked.
“You don’t understand.” Natasha said painfully.
“Help us, help us understand, were you born cruel beyond all measure or are you just unsalvageable?” Ross interjected with an evil smirk.
“There’s a reason you don’t find free widows any where else in the world, and it’s because we have to put them down… humanely.” Ross added. “You can’t be saved, and you know you’ll never be free of your past, that you are so broken and heartless and influenced by the wrongs you’ve done that you don’t even understand the wrongs you still do. This is what the Sokovia Accords are all about. You’re finished, Romanoff, and you better hope you are one of the lucky ones who gets to spend the rest of your life behind bars and not the alternative.” Ross threatened as the soldiers moved in closer to Natasha.
“How many chances do you think you’re going to get, child killer? You can’t erase red with more red.” Maria said angrily, she was looking at Natasha with such hate as if she was crushed and enraged by the details of Natasha’s decision coming to light.
Natasha was usually phased by nothing, but hearing Maria say those words to her face made her hands start to tremble. She felt like she was being suffocated and no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t take in any air. Her chest tightened and she still felt the sharp stabbing pain as her heart felt like it was bursting with a racing beat. All Natasha could see was Antonia Dreykov in that window flashing before her eyes and the guilt rippled through her, her vision started to tunnel as she shook her head shamefully at Maria, so ashamed of herself.
“Hands up, Romanoff!” The armed men called out to her but she could barely hear it as the thundering sound of her own pulse took over her ears. Maria’s image blurred as the stark reality of her prior actions crashed down on her and Natasha shut her eyes as she started to cry and she could feel the vibrations of the men’s foot steps coming toward her as she refused to put her hands up. As Natasha realized she had to do something, she felt entirely frozen as the armed men moved in on her. She would be killed before she could even reach for her gun. This betrayal by Maria it felt worse than being shot, how could she so convincingly lie to her face all this time? How long did she know? Did Ross find out somehow, and tell Maria to turn her against Natasha. Natasha couldn’t breath, she had no way to ever explain what she did or justify it. Maybe she was unsalvageable, like Ross said. The look in Maria’s eyes of hate just showed Natasha she had no path to redemption. Maria was right, Natasha could have done so many things differently, the child didn’t have to be collateral damage, she didn’t have to be the trigger and now Natasha had to pay for her crimes, she knew this day would come but she wasn’t ready for it to come this way, she went to look at Clint as her last line of hope but she couldn’t find him in the soldiers crowding her.