Power Within Her

Shadows Residing

*3rd POV*

Natasha Romanoff is currently driving up a long driveway in the countryside of Washington, DC. She parks in front of a large mansion and walks to the front door. She places her hand on the doorknob and attempts to enter, only to find the house locked. Natasha furrows her eyebrows in confusion and pulls out her phone. She scrolls through her contacts and stops at one name. Nikolina.

Her thumb hesitates over the number before she takes a deep breath through her nose and pushes the button. She raises the phone to her ear and listens to the dialing tone. She hears an automated message, and confusion washes over her body. She continues to scroll through her contacts until she arrives at another name. Nick Fury.

"What?"

"Do you know where Nikolina is?" Natasha asks Nick while walking around to the back of the house.

"No. Miss Volkov is out on a mission," Nick announces to Natasha in a firm voice, but there is underlining worry and confusion.

"When was she supposed to be back?" Natasha picks the lock of the back door and sneaks inside. She looks around the room and notices a light coating of dust covering the furniture.

She walks up the stairs and turns to the right towards Nikolina's bedroom. "2 months ago." Fury utters into the phone, and Natasha pauses mid-step. Nikolina's bedroom is in pristine condition, too immaculate.

"She isn't here," Natasha explains to Fury the condition of the house, and then Fury declares to her,

"I'm coming, and I am bringing Rogers."

Natasha looks through Nikolina's bedroom before closing her door and walks down to the lobby to wait for Fury and Rogers. She hears a car engine pull up, followed by a motorcycle engine. Both drivers shut off their machinery, and then the rustle of footstep walks up to the door and stops; Natasha walks over to the door and pulls it open. She moves to the side and allows both the men into the house; she looks at their faces and sees that Steve seems very concerned and scared, while Fury looks at her with mild curiosity and well-hidden panic.

They walk into Nikolina's kitchen and sit down at the table there. Looking out the window, there is a large pool with a large scenic scene behind it. The lake reflects the sun, and it glitters across the top; all three of them look around the kitchen before getting down to business.

Rogers is the first to speak, "Where did you send Nikolina?"

Fury replies in a stern voice, "France."

"What was her mission?" Natasha questions while getting a glass of water.

"She was supposed to intercept and contain two widely known people for terrorism, and their names are Pierre DeBois and Mateo Lopez. When you called me Natasha, I sent someone there to see if she completed her mission."

"What was found?" Steve and Natasha's voices are in sync.

"There was a camera that captured everything."

A sense of dread drifts over all the people in the room; Fury sighs profoundly and pulls out a briefcase. He flips it open, and inside there is a monitor; he powers it up, and the video footage pops up. They watch intently, see Nikolina walk into the store, and the camera switches to the camera inside the store. All three listen to the French lady, and Nikolina has a conversation. They see Pierre walk in and place himself in front of the window, they see Nikolina look at him and then turn back to the lady, and they continue to converse in French.

After a few moments, they see Mateo Lopez walk in and nod to the man; they both step outside and walk down the street a little. Nikolina walks out of the store and pretends to look through her bag, causing both the men to look at her and everyone to hold their breath. When both the men look away, all the people watching the video let out a sigh of relief; however, it is short-lived, as they see the briefcase exchanged between the men. Nikolina springs into action, and both men pull out guns and fire at her. They see her head jerk to the side as she dodges the bullet; they watch as the fight continues.