Widow of Siberia

Chapter 2

Hair long enough to sway in the wind finally, the Red Widow stood watching the Winter Guard load up a concerningly small boat with anything they needed. They had chosen an island off the coast of Mexico so that they could reach the US mainland quickly and without much hassle. The sound of the engine rumbled as Vanguard placed the last duffel bag into the boat. 

"So… " Darkstar smiled as she waltzed across the sand to stand beside Vienna. “Can we all call you Vienna, or just Anya?”

"Krasnyy is fine," Vienna said simply, keeping her eyes forward as she looked out at the ocean, “there is no need to be familiar.”

“Of course not,” Laynia sighed, glancing down at Vienna as she stood in her new red and black suit, mask covering the lower half of her face, “Why would a team ever want to have any kind of trust.”

Out of his suit, Dimitri stepped quickly past her, "she won't care about that. Don't you think you'll be easily spotted in that?" 

"I've never been spotted before," Krasnyy said, her tone shifting gently with her confused frown as she followed Dimitri into the boat. 

Dimitri sort of grunted as he sat down, surrounded by his team. "I assume the Headmistress told you more about what we're here to do." 

"We're hunting Yelena Belova and the other defectors," the Red Widow told them, sitting with her back to the water as everyone settled in, "what more is there?” 

"Where are they?" Vanguard asked, leaning back in his seat, letting the tips of his fingers skim along water behind him. "And why are they not sending your little spiders?" 

"This isn't espionage, this is justice for the Motherland," Vienna told him sharply, her head snapping round to look at him. “And for His Excellency.”

"What changed?" Dimitri asked, a frown of concern on his brow as he tried to read the Red Widow's body language but she refused to move at all. 

"There has been an interruption in our operations," she admitted, "the Red Room needs adjusting and the Winter Guard is more than happy to step in while Russia is in need." 

"Of course," Dimitri agreed, wanting to know more but knowing she would never tell him, "do we know where they are?” 

Vienna gave a brief shake of her head before turning back to look in the direction that the boat was headed. She could feel her eyelids becoming heavy, with her lack of sleeping, her exhaustion was becoming overbearing, but she had to hold out. After the mission she could suffer the nightmares, but Natasha needed her whole attention. 

"Why not just send you?" Nikolai asked, lifting his hand from the water as he sat forward, "won't we just slow you down on a mission like this? I feel like a tag along." 

"The Guard works together," Vienna told him, turning her head out of habit to show she was looking at him. “It is our purpose.”

"Bullshit, our purpose," Dimitri laughed, frowning down at her, "what is the Red Room so afraid of? What are they expecting that you can't take down on your own?" 

"Alexei Shostakov," she said slowly, hoping that Dimitri would let it go soon. The line between what she was and was not supposed to tell them was thinning and trust in her was wearing thin if she wanted to stay in the Red Room. 

"That traitor," Dimitri laughed again, turning to talk to the others on the boat, "attacked his own comrades for a child, that's why he was in prison. Playing Daddy got to his head."

"You have to protect your sons," Nikolai frowned. The Red Guardian had been his favourite hero growing up and to hear Dimitri laugh at him like that took him aback. "There must have been a misunderstanding."

"No, little girl I heard," Dimitri told him, still chuckling at the thought of the Red Room being afraid of him, "not even his. Dead now, didn't do very well at protecting her."

“Vienna Retnikopf,” Laynia said, meeting Vienna's eyes for just a second as Dimitri nodded with a burley hum. 

"The Red Guardian is stronger than that surely," Nikolai sat back in his seat, his disappointment in his hero clear on his face. 

"Apparently not, pathetic little man," Dimitri shook his head as he turned back to the Red Widow, "who's he with?" 

"Yelena Belova," Vienna's voice was hollow, her head hanging low. 

"Eh? Did I strike a nerve finally?" Dimitri's eyes lit up at her sudden change in mood, he had never been able to get any sort of reaction out of her before. "Were you a Red Guardian fan?" 

"Weren't we all?" Laynia said, taking Dimitri's gaze away from Vienna. 

"Yes, he disappoints us all," Dimitri sighed, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck. "You want me to believe you can't beat Belova? Bullshit, I've seen you cut vampires in half with one swing. She's nothing to you, who else?" 

"Melina Vostokoff," she said, continuing to not look up at him as she tried to hold herself up. 

"No," Dimitri looked as though she had told him that his own mother had died, "Melina left? She betrayed us? How? Why?" 

Vienna shrugged. 

"That Ohio mission," Dimitri shook his head as the boat came towards the shore of the mainland, "I thought more of her. Anyone else?" 

"The red death is back from the grave," Vienna sighed, standing as the boat rocked on the shallow waters.

“You're kidding.” Dimitri looked dumbfounded, almost scared. 

“I am not.”

“Did any of you know about this?” Dimitri asked, being met with shrugs and shifting glances. 

"She was in Siberia, I saw her.” Darkstar said, standing to follow her through the water up to the dry land. 

“How long have we known about this?” Dimitri demanded, glaring at the girls as he let Nikolai drag the boat to shore. 

"You shouldn't be questioning His Excellency’s orders," Vienna snapped as she tried to speed up away from them but they kept following. 

"If you just told us everything, you wouldn't have to answer so many questions," Dimitri sighed, "and if His Excellency told the leader of the team the plan it wouldn't be like drawing blood from a stone." 

"Shut up," Vienna turned harshly, surprising them all as they stopped suddenly, "His Excellency only does what is best. Speak ill of Him again and I'll gut you faster than you could ever get to your scrap metal suit.”

"I'm sure," Dimitri glared down at her as she stepped up to him, "what did they do now that pissed everyone off so much?" 

"They stole Romanoff from us."