Beauty and the Beast

Wait

The physicist moves to sort his small bag of belongings. His hands find his newly acquired metal pistol, tossing it to the side in his 'keep' section.

With a heavy exhale, his frustration grows, tucking any and all clothing into the bag with an eye roll. He replaces his jacket and loads the pistol with his newly enhanced weapon and shoves a photo into his coat pocket.

Banner checks the clock and moves to exit the space. With the small bag over his shoulder he locks the door behind him and tucks the key underneath the mat with a final payment- plus a little extra for the kind landlord. It is not like he will need cash anymore.

Spotting a dumpster he tosses his belongings without a second thought. Traveling lightly, he walks the frozen city street with his hands shoved deep into his pockets. He has a location in mind, an even more isolated part of the city.

. . . . . . . . . .

Natasha is regretting allowing Stark to come along on her trip when he offers her a shot of scotch for the fourth time.

She's still frustrated by his delay in bidding Pepper goodbye and then by his insistence on his own aircraft. In Natasha's mind, a SHIELD craft would've been faster.

She sits near the window, arms crossed as they reach the end of their trip. A heavy sigh merits a fifth offer of scotch. She glares in Tony's direction;

"Ask me again and I will shatter the glass and stab your reactor with its pieces."

"Yes, Red."

Natasha turns her head and immediately looks back outside her window. Her jacket tugs gently as she moves, uninterested in moving from her current spot;

"How much longer."

"About an hour."

She doesn't respond. Tony sips his drink, cautiously glancing over the distraught assassin. He purses his lips;

"That was a long flight...what do you think he's up to?"

She hugs her arms a little tighter, "When was the last time you heard from him again?"

Tony shrugs, "Three days ago. Said he was going off the radar and that he had two more ideas for memory recollection. Said to make sure you were okay."

Natasha feels her gut twist over the 'off the radar'...how much more solitude could he get? She swallows over the connection she makes in her mind.

Her eyes lower. She subtly lifts her fingers to her eyelid, trying to hide a slipped tear from her traveling companion. She plays it off as an eyelash as she refocuses back out the window;

"When we get there, I have connections so let me do the talking."

The engineer twists his jaw over her expression;

"I really can't believe we just flew five thousand miles across the world- God dammit Red. You love the guy, don't you?"

She refuses to answer when she briefly makes eye contact, biting at her inner cheek.

Natasha can calculate the exact distance from where they are landing to her desired location. She knows which paths to search and which streets to address first. In her head she maps the distance between the city and the mountains, sketching the way in her head.

Tony offers her a friendly smile, "You'll find him for us. You know what you're doing."

Natasha swallows hard and gives her eye another rub. Finding him wasn't her concern; She knows enough about how his mind works to pin his location. Her worry lies in his status, knowing the vibranium pills and compounds were missing from the lab.