Fireball!
Her knees hurt. But she silently followed Barton through the metal tunnels. At last, they reached what looked like a massive junction. The open area had been stuffed with pilfered blankets, pillows, magazines, and a small collection of snacks. It was a nest.
“Just how much time do you spend up here?”
Clint had the decency to look ashamed, “Don’t ask,”
“Okaaay,” She clicked her tongue, “So what do we do now?”
“Excellent question,”
They marinated in awkward silence. No time like the present , She decided and asked about the subject that had been bothering her the last couple of weeks. “So what do you know about the Winter Soldier?”
His head whipped up, “What?”
“Y’know, the crazy assassin who turned out to be Cap’s best friend? I haven’t been able to find anything else about him, but you do all that spy stuff so I just figured…”
“Right, yeah,” He nodded, “Well Natasha dumped all the Hydra secrets on the web, but the government cleaned most of it up pretty quick. From what we found it sounds like the guy went through some pretty nasty stuff,”
The next hour was filled with the gory details of how the Winter Soldier was created and used. New Hydra sounded a lot worse than the version she had learned about. She knew Tony had a team decoding the location of their secret bases, and that Steve and his friend Sam were tearing through them to find Bucky. The things they’d done to him made her want to throw up.
“They sound awful,” She said quietly once he finished.
His voice was raw, “They were… are. The files also confirmed that they had worked with… The Red Room. Where Nat was trained,”
That stopped her cold. If even half the things Clint had just told her were true, then whatever they had done in The Red Room must’ve been… horrible. She’d known Natasha’s childhood and training hadn’t been pleasant, but she hadn’t even grasped the depth of how awful it must’ve been until now. It amazed her. That despite everything she had gone through, Natasha could be so… warm. A patient trainer, a great cook, and an amazing friend.
“Bastards,”
“Yeah,” A voice said from one of the vents, “They were,”
Ren and Clint jumped so high they struck the ceiling. Nat’s barking laugh was amplified by the metal walls.
“You guys really thought I wouldn’t find you in here?” Her face became visible as she crawled in and observed Clint’s little hideout, “I’m the best spy in the world,”
“I’d hoped it would take you a little longer,”
“It took me about five minutes, I just wanted to see what you would do. Gotta admit Storytime is not what I was expecting,” She smirked as she leaned against a short wall. “But it’s a good thing you caught her up,”
Ren scrunched her brows together, “Why?”
“Because we just got a mission.”
…
Her dress was so short she was worried her ass was hanging out. The silky blue material just brushed the top of her thighs, and went up to her neck, leaving her shoulders completely bare. The black heels weren’t bad, she’d worn taller. The heel itself was thick and the small platform gave her some stability. Nat was dressed similarly. In typical widow fashion, she was in all black and walking on a dangerous-looking pair of stilettos.
The briefing had been short, Sam gave them the rundown over video chat. A former high-ranking member of Hydra was in New York. They weren’t sure why, but they knew he had worked on the Winter Soldier Project. So the girls had been sent in.
Their biggest problem was finding an in. Nat was the natural choice, she’d been trained for this sort of thing. But they had reason to believe he would know who she was. So the job fell to Ren, who was sorely out of practice. The target was currently sitting at the bar nursing his drink. Early thirties maybe, with sandy hair cut military style, his clothes looked tailored and he was eyeing all the girls who walked past. Maybe this wouldn’t be that hard. All she had to do was flirt a little, drop something in his drink, drag him back to the tower, and let Nat do the rest. She started simple.
“Hey,” Ren said, flashing a grin, “Mind if I sit here?”
The man looked at her for a second before a smile snaked across his lips as well, “Not at all,”
Perching on the stool she reached her hand out, “I’m Rachel,”
“I’m Daniel, can I get you anything to drink?”
“Yes you can,” She giggled.
When he waved over the bartender she ordered a Negroni. Since the accident, her alcohol tolerance had been off the charts. While she normally mourned her ability to get drunk, it was quite an asset right now. Nat might’ve been able to get the information they needed just by flirting with the guy. But Ren wasn’t Natasha, so after a couple of minutes of conversation, it was time to make her move.
While Daniel’s head was turned she reached forward and freed some powder from the compartment in her bracelet. As she pulled her arm back another hand shot forward and pinned her wrist to the bar top. It was the bouncer who had let them in. Daniel turned back to them, assessing the situation.
“Honestly, Ren, I expected better,”
Her heart stopped. She heard Nat curse over the comms. Unsure what to do, she doubled down, “Ren? My name is Rachel,” She attempted her best drunk-girl voice.
The bouncer laughed and Daniel smiled condescendingly, “No. Your name is Ren Wright, codenamed Inferno by S.H.I.E.L.D.,” His smile grew to a grin, “Also known… as Hydra,”
Oh Fuck.
The sound of commotion came from farther down the bar. She had a feeling the two men before her weren’t the only Hydra agents here. Her arm began to burn and the bouncer released it immediately. Wasting no time she grabbed her half-empty drink and smashed it into his head, igniting the liquor. He screamed as he tried to claw at the flames jumping at his face. Turning back to Daniel she found him missing.
Before she had time to deal with that a knife pressed against her throat from behind. “Hydra can’t wait to get their hands on you again,” A new voice whispered in her ear.
Remembering Nat’s training she stomped down on the man's foot and shot her fist into his crotch. His grip loosened and she grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm as she turned and punched him in the windpipe. The woman who took his place received a broken nose before having her face slammed into the bartop. Strong arms gripped her from behind and lifted her off the floor. She gave into the momentum and lifted her legs up to push off the counter. The new attacker stumbled backward before falling over. Ren rolled off of him and shoved her foot down on her neck, her heel pinning him.
The rest of the crowd was fleeing the nightclub. Good, less collateral damage. That left the four agents she had taken out, six more unconscious or dead, and another five. The man beneath her twitched. She looked down to see him convulsing, a small metal disk attached to his arm.
Natasha was already running past and using her signature spinning takedown on one of the agents Ren hadn’t seen. One of her heels flew off and she flipped the other into her hand before she landed. She jammed the stiletto heel into the eye of the nearest man. Before yanking it out and reinserting it into the neck of the woman beside him. A shot sounded from her gun as she fell.
Ren hissed as the side of her leg started to burn, and not how it usually did. The bullet had grazed her thigh.
“You taking a break or something?” Nat asked from beside her.
She shrugged, “Needed a breather. They could at least make it hard,”
They both laughed through their heavy breathing as the remaining agents regrouped and pulled their weapons. The Widow turned to her with a sardonic smirk, “It’s your song,”
The DJ was nowhere to be found but his music was still playing. The song currently queued? Fireball by Pitbull. Despite the situation, Ren couldn’t help a laugh.
Nat cocked her head, “That gives me an idea,”
She leaped over the bar and grabbed a couple of bottles, before unceremoniously smashing them across the wooden counter. A bullet whizzed past Ren’s head as she picked up on Nat's plan. She ran to the bar top and vaulted over it.
She slammed her hand down on the soaked surface and it went up in a blaze. The Hydra agents were trapped on the other side. The bartenders were gone, and the kitchen was empty too when they raced into it. The fire sprinklers were pouring down. Ren was in the lead as the Widow had stopped to fire a few rounds through the curtain of flame. She really needed to get some firearm training.
A loud clang stopped her in her tracks, just before she reached the exit. Daniel was standing over Natasha’s prone body, a wok in hand. His grin had turned even more sadistic.
“Mind if I cut in?” He asked.
She could feel the fire growing in her chest as he stepped over Nat like she was an unwanted piece of rubble. Her skin was steaming as she stared him down, her dress starting to smolder. It was one of Tony’s test fabrics but she wasn’t sure it would last. She didn’t care.
Like an idiot, the Hydra agent decided to monologue, “I know what you two are here for. Same thing the Captain and his little friend have been searching for. But did you ever stop to wonder what I was here for?” He stepped closer, “I’m here for you, Ren,”
She smiled, “Tough luck,”
Dropping to a crouch she shot her right leg out and swept in under his. Clearly caught off guard he fell to the floor. Wasting no time she straddled herself over the man and wrapped her palm around his - honestly somewhat thin - neck. He gave her a wet laugh, “We could have some fun like this Sweetheart,”
She laughed too, baring her teeth, “Sweetheart,” She leaned closer, “This is fun,”
Then he began to scream. Seconds later she cooled her burning palm, “I’m only gonna ask this once, where is Barnes?”