WandaWidow - Book 1

Chapter 30 - Leuven

Natasha POV

It'd been a few weeks since I sent the post card to Clint, and it made me feel a little more relaxed to think that Wanda knew I was safe at least. I had been kept busy with Rumlow's goons, following them across a few countries now, but unfortunately hadn't got an eye on the man himself just yet.

Maria had been making sure to keep me updated with any intel she was finding, and while I still expect an apology from her at some stage, I honestly would've found this a lot harder without her help. Once I left Spain, I had tracked them to Nice in France where they stayed put for a few days or so, and then it was all go from then on. I've been to Amsterdam, Munich, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Rotterdam. These guys can't seem to stay still, and if I didn't know better I would think that they hadn't a clue what they were doing either.

That was until we reached our current spot, Leuven. It's a small town in Belgium, and even though they hadn't stayed anywhere else for very long until now, I've found myself in the same small coffee shop for the 6th morning in a row. I hadn't been able to figure out why they were here just yet, but I think the fact that the normally quiet little city was much busier than usual was a plus for them. From the posters and the crowds it wasn't hard to figure out that there was a large music festival taking place in a nearby village. This meant that the local police were mostly out of the main city, and those who remained already had their plates full. It was a great time for Rumlow to get on with whatever he was up to without being worried about interruptions.

Unfortunately for him though, this has allowed me the time to really get a tail on him and rather than playing catch up to their plans, I was able to watch them unfold in front of me. Across from my new favourite coffee spot was a fairly unassuming hotel. Family run from what I could gather, and generally wouldn't have been much of interest to anyone around. It was showing signs of disrepair, and a quick online search revealed it actually closed down the previous month. The reason that I found it so interesting, was despite it being closed, it was in fact open, and playing host to a number of questionable individuals.

Every morning, a group would exit, and I would follow them to a warehouse a few streets away which was locked tight and heavily guarded, day and night. I would stake it out for hours, and then in the evening the same group would return to the hotel and not leave again until the following morning. A few of the faces were easily recognised, as they appeared a number of times in the files Maria had given me, but what was frustrating enough was that Rumlow wasn't part of the group.

This morning had went by just as the previous had, the group left at the usual time, but instead of following them, I had decided to stayed put and kept a close eye on the hotel doors. I'll admit that I was getting a little impatient. My job, was to track him, not his men and while I hoped they would lead me to him - and they eventually would, it was just taking a little longer than I would have liked. Once I get eyes on him, and figured out what his game was, I could go back or call the team here and we would deal with him together.

An hour or so after the group had left, I headed across the street and into the hotel where I was met with a slightly stressed looking front desk worker. He looked tired, and his general demeanour was striking in difference to the other locals I had met. Everyone here was generally welcoming and polite, but he definitely was not.

"What do you want?" he asked, exasperated at the sight of me coming through the doors. Not the usual response for my presence, but I'll try and not let it knock my ego too much.

"I was wondering if I could book a room for the night," I asked sweetly, making my way to the desk.

"Full," he replied dryly.