Forgotten Ghost | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 26: Oops

''You're staring again. I can't concentrate like this Katya,'' Natasha chuckled softly.

''Sorry,'' she muttered, getting a knife out of her belt and twirling it around in her hand, watching as the harmless part of the deadly weapon hit her skin every second. Isn't it funny that such a deadly thing could become so harmless the second it wasn't sharp? The same with a gun. As soon as it wasn't loaded, it was just a piece of plastic, no harm done. But with a bullet that could easily make 2500 feet per second, it was the deadliest weapon in her arsenal.

The computer's loading bar was about halfway when the door to the room busted down and fell inside. Katya had thrown her knife before she saw who it was. It lodged itself into the steel wall behind the two fallen men, who were on the ground. The Captain punched Bartoc unconscious, heavily panting from what she believed to have been a good fight. 

Steve hadn't noticed the knife flying above his head or the fact that two spies were in this room with him. One furiously typing away on the keyboard while the other had relaxed again, fiddling with another knife now that the threat had been eliminated as fast as it had come.

''Well, this is awkward,'' Natasha broke the silence, knowing Steve would see them any minute now. 

He got up immediately, looking between Katya, who gave him a little wave, to Natasha, who had focused her eyes on the screen again but with a smirk playing on her lips. ''What are you doing?'' Yup, he was angry, like they had predicted.

''Backing up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into.'' Natasha wasted no time beating around the bush. She could have lied if she wanted to, Rogers would have probably believed her, but what was the point? He had caught them and he wasn't blind or dumb. If he wanted to figure something out, he would. He was very determined. 

Checking to make sure Batroc was still out, he walked over to them while loudly complaining. ''Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?'' He stopped next to Natasha, trying to figure out the things displaying on the screen.

Despite being new to all this, he could see the loading bar, which was three-quarters full by now. The screen also very openly said 'File Transfer Sequence' above it, which told him enough. ''You're saving SHIELD Intel.''

''Whatever we can get our hands on.'' Katya spoke up for the first time, making his angry blue eyes focus on her. Her nonchalant attitude didn't sit right with him, she saw that. But she couldn't care less. He might be in charge of this mission, but Natasha and Katya's mission came from higher-up. It overruled this one. If Rogers had a problem, he could fight it out with Fury. 

''Our mission is to rescue hostages,'' he said angrily to Katya, who shrugged her shoulders.

''No. That's your mission,'' Natasha corrected him sweetly, the computer chiming to let her know the transfer was complete. Grabbing the flash drive from the slot, she turned around to face him to say the next part in his face. ''And you've done it beautifully.''

Katya jumped off the table, ready to follow her, when Rogers suddenly grabbed both their arms as they passed him. ''You two just jeopardized this whole operation.'' His head turned from side to side to look both agents in their eyes. He was very angry, steam almost coming out of his ears. His grip was so tight that Katya couldn't get her arm out of it even if it were her good one. His thumb pressed into her weak muscle, the one that was still painful, and she had to bite her lip to not let out a whimper.

''I think that's overstating things,'' Natasha denied, that damn hint of a smile on her lips. But she had spoken too soon.

On the other side of the room, Batroc rose, pulling the pin out of a grenade and throwing it in their direction. The movement caught Natasha and Katya's attention, who both started running towards the exit they had determined before. 

Steve hit the grenade with his shield, getting it away from them as soon as possible, before following the two women. Natasha shot at the glass window of an office before Steve grabbed both of them, jumped onto a desk and jumped through the glass, his shield in front of their faces.

The grenade exploded with a loud bang before they could hit the floor, fire filling the room they were just in. Quickly moving against the wall to protect them from the fire, everyone panted loudly while Katya held her painful shoulder. She had landed on it, and that was not a good idea.

''Okay. That one's on us.'' Natasha took the blame for distracting Rogers from Bartoc, almost killing them in the process.

''You're damn right,'' The Captain said angrily, standing up and walking out, leaving the two spies to fend for themselves. Natasha sighed and frowned, not happy with getting him mad She closed her eyes and rested her head back before turning it to Katya, who sat a little away.

Her gaze fell onto the shoulder Katya clutched. It would need some ice to drown the pain and definitely some painkillers. ''Your shoulder?'' she asked concerned.

Katya nodded, angry at her own body for not doing what she wanted it to. ''Damn shoulder. It's so frustrating,'' she growled. The fatigue, pain and frustration hit her all at once now that the mission was over.

Natasha stood up slowly, a little wobbly at first, before grabbing Katya's good arm and helping her up. ''Let's get back to the jet before Rogers leaves without us.'' She tried to lighten the mood a little, but it didn't have much effect.

They completed the mission, but not without making sacrifices along the way. It would be a while before Steve trusted them again. Besides, Batroc got away and now they had to find this dangerous guy again. On top of all that, Steve found out about their side-mission, which would come with questions. Yeah, it wasn't a good day.