Manhattan, New York | 10 December 1704. “Yelena, I told you already. We’re going to Kyiv first.”
“It doesn’t make sense. Why would we not go to where it used to be and start there? I’m sure there are men there watching and we can start in Russia.”
“You know that’s why I always beat you. Why would we start with low level guards…they’re useless. Alexei is in Kyiv…and every year, the second week of December, Government and KGB officials hold a secret gala where they bid for the newest Black Widow and influence who will be the next prospective Black Widow and sell all candidates to the highest bidder.”
“What? I don’t remember this-“
“Because you weren’t a Black Widow.”
“And you’re soooo special for being the-“
“I’m not special. You should have been one…I made sure you wouldn’t…just- stop…We’re starting in Kyiv. Igor will be in Kyiv…we’re starting with Igor.” Yelena knew when to be quiet. While she was skilled, she knew her sister was not just trained like the other Widows. She was a natural in ways Yelena could never be, in ways she always wished she could be.
“Where is your contact? It’s not professional to make us wait so-“ as if on cue, a plane descended from the clouds. “Oh..a Sukhoi Su?” Yelena frowned, trying to hide the impressed smile.
Natasha put her bags down. The sun was beginning to set behind them. Steve was supposed to join them, or maybe he got cold feet. Realized it was a suicide mission, or had second thoughts about ‘saving her.’ She wouldn’t have blamed him if he did. It was safer for him to stay away. She already had the argument with Yelena to not invite James. Yelena called her an idiot for not wanting the Winter Soldier as an ally, that they would need all the man power they could get going against Dreykov, but she couldn’t risk him. She had just found him after all this time, and while she may be leaving with him thinking she had moved on from him, she couldn’t risk him falling to the Red Room. The last time she saw her James, he was frozen in a cryotank-lost to her forever.
“Natasha Romanoff. I know when you call-you’re about to get into trouble,” Rick Mason greeted. Nat smiled and pat his shoulder.
“You did good.”
“Hey, this wasn’t an easy steal, you know? Private contractors don’t just pull Russian aircraft from thin air…I deserve a lot more than a pat on the shoulder here!”
“You were paid,” Natasha reminded him with a wry grin.
“Handsomely I might add, but no..I mean-can I get a call once and while when you’re not looking to buy something off of me?”
Natasha just smiled wryly and pat him on the shoulder again before she went to grab her bags and threw them into the back of the plane.
Yelena appeared to be stalling, rocking on her heels. Natasha had resolved that Steve wasn’t coming and so she looked to her sister and motioned to the plane. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah---yep-“
“Why are you acting like that?”
“Like what?”Yelena threw her hands up, exasperated.
“Like that…weird.”
“I’m waiting…”
“For? Are you hailing a taxi? We need to be able to leave.”
“I invited someone.”
“Yelena…” Natasha already knew.
“Oh come on! We would be stupid not to have him come with us...he wants them dead just as much as you do. He’s stronger than both of us. He’s faster. He’s a super soldier. Come on!”
“That wasn’t your call to make, Yelena” Natasha was rarely frustrated but Yelena sure knew how to pull it out of her.
“And it’s not yours either. You weren’t the only one hurt by them,” Yelena immediately threw back in her face and Natasha paused. “We all were. You aren’t the only one who decides whether they get revenge or not. I know you’re an aveeenger but…I need to know they’re gone too. Bucky needs to closure. We all do. We all get to be superheroes this time.”
Natasha narrowly glared at the younger Widow but sighed in defeat. “He’s late then…and besides I had invited Steve to come.”
“You invited the Ken Doll?” Yelena smiled. “What a hypocrite you are.”
“I’m not a hypocrite,” Natasha walked onto the plane to fire it up. “I said it yesterday, I didn’t want James to fall into Dreykov’s hands. They helped make The Winter Soldier with Hydra…they likely know how to trigger him and the last thing I want is to get distracted worrying about him or having to kill him because he’s trying to kill us…I wanted his hands clean.”
“Oh but not Mr. Rogers?”
“Mr. Rogers is-never mind…it’s complicated.”
“These are the Days of Our Lives” Yelena teased as she sat in the back seat. She knew he would come. She could see his determination last night. "I donât think itâs just that."
"I donât want to be distracted," Natasha admitted. "I donât want any of you to follow me because I donât want to be worried about any of you."
"Youâre not doing this alone, Natalia. Youâre not dying alone."
