Little Ballerina (A WinterWidow Story)

Ch. 17 New Developments

"So" Tony said as he rubbed his tired eyes, "Let me get this straight"

He looked tired as he set the screwdriver down to look up,

"You left this morning to bring Rina back but instead you brought back a snarky teenager with a coffee addiction and no Rina?"

The man threw his hands in the air, exasperated from what he was hearing,

"You two are something else you know that. Two of the best damn spies this world has ever known and you come back with this" he gestures at Maxim who was standing in between Natasha and James.

"Actually I was an assassin" Bucky said pointing at himself, "and she was an assassin and spy" he said pointing at the red head, while Natasha nodded enthusiastically.

Tony just stared in shock, unable to say anything. At that moment Steve walked into the room, unaware of what was happening.

"Cap" Tony said gesturing towards the three people in front of him, "talk to them I can't deal with it today" he said before walking out of the lab.

Steve looked from his friends to the kid then back to his friends, not sure what was going on.

"Where's Sam?" Natasha asked trying to break the silence

A look of panic flashed crossed his face before it vanished,

"He something came up today, he couldn't make it" the blond answered quickly

There was obviously something he was hiding but that would have to wait for another time. They had to plan another mission.

"Who's the kid?" Steve questioned, looking intently at Maxim.

His eyes flashed in recognition and his face reddened in anger,

"You little-" he began moving towards the kid but Natasha steeped in front of the boy before Steve could reach him

"Hey, hey" she said trying to calm the supersoldier down, "he was Rina's best friend, he might be useful to us"

"Aw" Maxim gushed sarcastically, "I knew you really cared about me, scary lady"

"Come on" Bucky said, grabbing the boy by his collar, "I'll show you to your room"

Maxim allowed himself to be dragged away, making sarcastic remarks the whole way.

Steve rubbed his eyes and then gasped,

"Oh my god. He's like a mini Tony"

Natasha laughed,

"Yeah I thought that too"

"I think hell would be nicer than two of them"

A moment of silence consumed the two friends before Nat broke the silence,

"Steve, we were so close" she said, voice wavering, "she was right there but we were too late"

"Hey, you did the best you could. She wouldn't want you to beat yourself up over this"

She scoffed,

"No, she'd tell me to get some chocolate and go watch a movie with James" she said with a laugh

Steve let out a small chuckle,

"Yeah, that girl really loved the two of you"

A laugh came from the doorway,

"And we really love her, too. I think she had that effect on the whole tower" Bucky said moving to stand next to Natasha

Nat snaked her arm around his waist and leaned into him,

"We'll get her back" she said but it came out as more of a whisper

"Guys I think we have a problem" Tony's voice came from over the speaker

They all made their way to the lab where Tony was sitting in front of a screen.

A Romanian news report was playing showing the death of a crooked politician who had been involved in too many scandals to count. Nat wasn't sure what the big deal was until the news anchor announced that the security camera caught an image of his killer and she was met with a familiar face. Rina. The girl was wearing a simple ballet leotard with her curly mop pulled back into a tight bun. She looked thinner, her eyes were lined with dark paint and her expression emotionless in the blurry security camera photo. Her heart dropped, the girl was smart she wouldn't have let the camera catch her unless she wanted it too.

Tony interrupted her thoughts,

"They are calling her the Little Ballerina. She's already had five confirmed kills in less than three days" he read from the screen.

Natasha groaned and rubbed her face, her eyes shut, "have have to find her" she said, "before... before" she couldn't finish her sentence

James understood what she meant, "before they turn her like me" He said honestly

An eerie silence enveloped the room.

*****

Alexi paced around the hall thoughts flying through his head, what if I was too hasty, what if she wasn't ready? His superiors were putting him under a lot of pressure to give results, what if his calculations were incorrect and it didn't work for such a small girl. He had modified it from the Winter Soldier project but he was no scientist so he wasn't certain is he was correct.

He heard groaning from inside the room he walked inside and Ekaterina was waking up. He removed the head pieces from her temples but left the restraints on, with the supersoldier serum flowing through her veins, she was stronger than even him.

Her eyes fluttered open, he watched as she groggily looked around. Alexi was standing next to her chair with arms folded behind him, back straight, like a soldier. He wasted no time, he began to question her,

"Who are you?" He asked

She looked around, "I don't know"

He smiled, "Where are you?"

She grimaced, "I don't know"

"Excellent" He said, "it worked"

*****

Maxim paced in his room, a thousand thoughts flying through his head. He couldn't take it anymore. He walked to the room Natasha and Bucky shared and knocked on the door. He didn't even give Nat enough time to speak before he blurted out,

"I think I know what they are doing. But I'm not sure I could be wrong. But I'm probably right. I don't know" he rambled

Natasha nodded for him to continue as James appeared behind her, hands resting on her waist.

Maxim took a deep breath,
"Before he left me behind, I heard my father talking about Project Janus. It's purpose was to have an alter ego that could be implanted in a person and brought out with a series of words" he said

"Like me?" James asked

Maxim shrugged,
"Kind of but Janus doesn't require a memory wipe, it's supposed to be more effective"

Natasha looked up at the man behind her,
"We have to find her"

"We will"

A chapter? Are you guys shocked? I am! I'm so glad to be back and writing I hope you enjoyed this chapter! But on a sad note, this book is coming to a close in the near future but get ready for the second book, "Dancing with the Devil"
Xo,
Renee