𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐍 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄━︎━︎ N. Romanoff ✓︎

𝐍𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER NINETEEN:
WRONG ANSWER

HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO say. What to think. His mind was completely blank, the words of Ronin Smith echoing through his brain, yet at the same time he couldn't seem to register what it was that the man had said. Alec was frozen. For the first time in his life, he was frozen in place, unsure what to do with the information that had just been handed to him. He was simply staring at Ronin, and Natasha couldn't help but look at the man with a deep frown covering her features. Neither of them understood, because Aurora was dead. Alec had seen Aurora's body, he had. Or, so he thought.

Ronin didn't say anything else, the man only smirking at the response he was getting from Alec. He had known for a long time about the fact that Alec's only reason for doing what he did was because of his sister. It was almost like a distraction, like the thought of his sister no longer being there pained him so much that it felt better to kill than to think. And maybe that's why Ronin had never told him the truth. Or maybe he just found it amusing that he had finally managed to make Alexander Grant, infamous bounty hunter and assassin, completely and utterly silent.

     Realizing that Alec wasn't going to say anything, Natasha turned her attention away from the man in order to look at Ronin with anger swirling in her eyes. This was cruel, even for her. To tell someone that their sibling was alive, when they had been dead for years? The Russian woman clenched her jaw in anger as she looked at Ronin, shaking her head slightly in disbelief. "You're lying," she spat. She watched as his smirk only seemed to grow wider at her words.

     "Maybe." Ronin admitted with the shrug of his shoulders, eyeing the red haired woman for a moment before he nodded his head towards Alec, turning his head to look at the man. "But if I were lying, don't you think Alexander would have shot that gun?" Alec looked up at his name, meeting Ronin's eyes. "You would know if I were lying, wouldn't you, Alexander? That was your specialty after all. To tell whether or not someone was spitting lies, or telling painful truths. I can see it in your eyes. The anger, the fear, the guilt."

     Alec didn't say anything as he looked at Ronin, his jaw clenching tightly in response. He didn't know what to believe at the moment. But all he knew, was that Ronin was telling the truth. And if his sister was really alive out there, why hadn't she come to find him? Who had her tightly in their grasp that she had yet to escape after so long? HIs eyes didn't leave Ronin's as he spoke his next words, "Natasha, go wait in the car."

     Natasha snapped her head over towards Alec, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she shook her head. "Alec, you can't really believe him. Aurora has been dead for years, you said you saw her body, and checked her pulse. How is she possibly alive?"

     "Natasha." Alec sternly spoke, slowly turning his head to look at the woman. Natasha tightly clenched her jaw as she glared at Alec, before backing down when she saw the look in his eyes. She sighed, before nodding reluctantly. She didn't want to leave Alec alone in that room with Ronin, but she knew that Alec could take care of himself. So, with one last glare shot towards Ronin, Natasha stood up and made her way out of the room, leaving Ronin and Alec alone.

     "Not smart of you to let her leave." Ronin spoke.

     "Not smart of her to leave me alone in here with you." Alec shot back.

     "Oh, I know that I'm going to die, Alexander." Ronin told the man. "I wouldn't put it past you. You are known for your cruelty. But the real question is, can you still be as cruel, knowing that your sister is out there? Knowing that she's alive? I mean. . . what would she think of her big brother mercilessly killing so many innocent people."

     Alec shot the gun, and Ronin jumped in surprise. "We're still in the middle of our game, remember. And I'm still holding the gun. So, I'm going to ask you this once, and one time only. If you don't tell me the answer I like, I'll shoot until you're dead." Alec paused as he looked at Ronin, taking it upon himself to spin the cylinder one more time before asking the question he already knew he wasn't going to get the answer to. "Where the hell is my sister."

It wasn't a question, more so sounding like that of a demand. And yet, all Ronin could do was simply shrug his shoulders. Because in all honesty, Ronin did it know where it was that Aurora Grant was located. All he knew was that Aurora was alive. He didn't know how, or why, or where she was, he just knew that she was still breathing. He knew that as soon as he opened his mouth, Alec would pull the trigger. He stared into Alec's eyes before speaking up.

     "I don't know." And then the gun went off, and a bullet landed right between Ronin's eyes, killing him.

     Alec stood up from the chair. "Wrong answer." And then, he turned on his heel, and walked out of the room.