Stained (N.R)

Chapter 32

"Katya?" I picked up my buzzing phone, recollecting enough to sound cheerful for Natalia's phone call. 

"Ilya?" I asked. "How's the accords?"

"You didn't see the news?" She asked, surprised. "Bucky blew up the building, King T'Chaka.... He... didn't make it. T'Challa is out for Bucky's blood and... I can't get into contact with Steve. He hang up on me."

"T'Challa's moving on his own?" I cursed. "I thought on the accords...."

"T'Challa wasn't part of the accords, he didn't sign." Ilya said, as if it was an obvious fact. "I need you to stop Steve, calm him down until we get there so we can talk this out together."

"And do you know his location?" I asked, pulling Jupiter's card out and releasing him. "Not yet, but I'm trying to contact Sam as well. He might be a breakthrough."

"Pietro and I will start looking, I miss you already." I sighed and Ilya hang up the phone, yet not before she quickly said a 'miss you too'. 

"What's all this location business." Pietro tried to lighten up the mood. "I thought  we are retiring."

"They got bombed in Vienna, the suspect is the Winter Soldier, T'Challa, who is free to be off the accord is looking for his blood, and Steve and Sam are missing." I updated him as quickly as possible. "We need to find Steve and Barnes before T'Challa does."

"Worst situation?" Pietro asked.

"Bucky, Steve and Sam has a battle with the Wakandans, they lose, and I get recognised as the guy who bought illegally transported vibranium from Wakanda all those years ago." I grimaced. "In other words, we fail, I say bye to freedom."

"Right." Pietro nodded, rolling his shoulders. "Let's find them then."

"No need..." I checked my phone again. "They are already caught... By Rhodes and the Police, whilst engaging the Prince of Wakanda in a fight which has injured quite a handful of Romanian citizens..."

"Any accords for the prince?" Pietro asked, hopeful.

"No, but looks like Captain America's gonna perform jail break soon. We might as well help him get out before things turns too violent."

"The peace-wanters won't be happy, Natasha being one of them." Pietro warned. 

"What can I do now?" I growled. "It's either this or Barnes' execution, and Steve will probably receive a life sentence in prison by trying to save Barnes and failing."

Pietro looked me long and hard. 

"What?" I asked, slightly annoyed. 

"Stark is blind for saying that you have no emotions." He slowly said. "You feel them stronger than any of us."

"I feel them to selective people," I calmed myself. "And that's bad."

"No." He shook his head. "It makes me want you to be the guy watching my back, other than anyone else in the world. Steve is lucky to have you, Katya, so is Stark, but he's too dumb to see it."

"Well..." I tried to calm the blush on my cheek. "Let's make sure Rogers isn't too dead to see it, shall we?"

"Look who's decided to show." Tony rolled his eyes at Pietro and I, gesturing to a man standing next to him. "Just the two people we were trying to find. This, is Everett Ross, Deputy Task Force Commander."

"So, dirty politics runs in the family." I muttered to Pietro, who sniggered, then raising my voice. "What's happening to Cap and Birdman?"

"The same that's happening to you and your friend." The man looked me up and down, as if judging an object, then scrunched his nose, scanning Pietro up and down too, then turned to order his men. "See that their weapons are locked up."

"What have we done?" Pietro looked around, confused, standing back to back with me. 

"We need to ensure that you don't help Captain America and his friends escape." Ross Junior looked smug. 

"Since when is 'preventing' locking people up." I grabbed Pietro's hand, motioning for him to stand down. 

"Since now. Hand in your weapons." The man insisted. "We are on red alert, and the last time that happened was back in WWII."

"We don't have weapons." Pietro showed his empty palms.

"Katyusha has her cards and her sword." Tony crossed his arms. "Hand them in."

Pietro looked at him in disbelief, then spat in his direction. "I knew you were rotten since day one, Stark."

"Hey Pietro, calm down." I stared at Tony. "Neither of us are American nationality, therefore this kind of imprisonment is not recognised by the law, furthermore, this is also a violation of human rights."

"The secretary of state is the law, young lady. As for human rights.... "Ross Junior sniggered. "Who would empathise a Red Room trained spy? An assassin, a murderer? Lock them up in the office." 

In the cristal glass office, Tony nudged the accords towards me. "You can still sign, now. Make the last 24 hours legal action..."

"We didn't do any illegal action." Pietro fumed. 

"We did by not signing, challenging their authority." I pushed the accords back. 

"But if you sigh, we can make amendments to these files, I'd file a motion to have you guys and Wanda reinstated...."

"Wanda?" I questioned, and Pietro let out a low growl.

"She's fine." Tony shrugged. "confined in the compound, currently. Vision's keeping her company."

"You..." Pietro lunged at Tony, but I held him back, just in time. 

"It's a hundred acres with a lap pool..."

"And this is why I am not planning to sigh this accord." I interrupted him.

"And what about Natasha." He stared at me. "What if you never see her again?"

"Let me ask you a similar question. If another Chitauri invasion comes, and they tell you to stand down, and sends a nuke to New York, Stark, Will you ever forgive yourself?" I closed my eyes, unwilling to look at him. "I may not care about much, Stark, but I have made friends in New York, and some other places. I want to be able to protect them and the people they love. If I sign this contract, it means that if they told me to stand down when said friends are getting nuked... This contract means that without orders, even if Ilya's getting hurt, then I'd have to turn my back and pretend nothing happens."

"It won't happen." He said, in a monotone. 

"You keep trying to convince yourself." I didn't look at him. "Or perhaps, you don't really care...."

"Dreykov." He slapped on the table and stood. 

"You see Wanda as a danger, Stark, but shouldn't you see yourself as a danger too? Before you've came to your so called senses, how many of these atrocities have you committed?" I stood. "The only difference is, you have power, she doesn't, so she will be hung on a cross, written in the history books, a villain who dares to defy the might of the UN."

"Thats..."

"It's not about freedom, Stark." I continued. "It's how you see someone who trusts you, looks up to you, would not hesitate to lay down their lives to save you..... As a threat...."