Two days later
Steve
After our vacation was over, Natasha and I reluctantly packed up the car and drove back to the compound to get resettled in. We returned in the evening, just in time for dinner, since we'd wanted to soak up as much alone time together as possible.
The team was gathered in front of the tv in the main area of the compound when we arrived back. Pizza boxes sat on the kitchen counter. Nat and I each grabbed a slice before interlocking our fingers and joining the group.
"Hey everyone," Nat said.
Our friends turned at the sound of her voice, making a racket as they ran over to greet us.
"How was the trip?" Pepper asked,
Nat and I smiled at each other.
"Amazing." I put my arm around her shoulders. "Pep, I can't thank you and Tony enough for the lake house."
"It's our pleasure," Tony said, clapping me on the shoulder. "We're glad you had fun."
Pepper, Wanda, and Emery took that moment to steal Natasha away, giggling about needing to talk to her about something.
"See you later," she said, giving me a quick kiss before following her friends.
"What do you think that's all about?" I asked Bucky and Sam. We all headed back to the sofas.
Sam laughed and Bucky just handed me a beer.
"Probably discussing you," Sam said.
I raised my eyebrows. "Hopefully good things." I sipped my beer before turning to Bucky. "Weren't you and Emery supposed to go to Manhattan?"
"Yeah, about that..." Bucky's eyes flickered around the room. "It was a false alarm. Fury's team checked it out and it turns out Alexei wasn't there. Not sure if we were too late or if he was never really in New York.
I closed my eyes and sighed. "So back to square one."
"Pretty much." He knocked his knee against mine. "So, Emery told me that she told Nat about Katya."
I nodded. "After the memory screening, Nat told me too—when you and Shuri had left us alone to talk. We need to have a meeting in the morning. And I think what you told me about Emery and the apartment needs to come up. I know she didn't want Nat to know, but I think it's time."
"I'll talk to her. And Tony said that Thor gave Nat a book?"
"Yeah. She has it in her room, so we'll consult it tomorrow when we talk to the team. Thor has offered his services, but I think unless we get footage of Kristina using whatever it is she's using, it won't be much help."
Bucky stood up. "Alright, well we will talk to the girls in the morning. And I'm gonna turn in for the night. See you tomorrow."
"Night, Buck," I said.
I sat on the sofas for a while longer before calling it a night and heading up to my room to sleep.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The next morning, I woke up to my phone buzzing and someone knocking on my door. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked around the room. It was 6:30am and Bucky wasn't here.
The knocking at my door became more insistent and more like pounding.
"It's open!" I called out, reaching for my phone. I had two texts from Nick Fury.
Fury: Headquarters now.
We have a situation
"Ahem."
I looked up to find Natasha standing in my doorway. She was already dressed in a black vest and cargo pants, her typical outfit for missions and meetings at SHIELD headquarters. She prided herself on how many pockets both the vest and pants had, claiming it made it easier to bring extra weapons along.
"Hey. Did Fury text you too?" I asked.
She nodded, stepping inside my room. "I don't like this. Whatever Fury needs to tell us, it can't be good."
"Well, I know he wouldn't text if it wasn't important." I grabbed my clothes from the top of the dresser. "Wait for me. I'm just gonna put on some clothes."
Natasha sat on my bed and I went into the bathroom to change. When I returned, she handed me my shield and I placed it on my back.
I took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, and we took the elevator down to the main level. Emery and Bucky were already there waiting for us.
"Hey, you two," Emery greeted us. "Did you get Fury's messages?"
"Yeah," Nat said. "I'll start the car." She grabbed the keys to her convertible and left the three of us.
"Is Nat ok?" Bucky asked.
I scratched my head. "I was gonna ask the same thing. She didn't look happy when she came over to my room this morning."
Emery and Bucky exchanged a look.
"What?" I asked.
"Um, does Fury know your relationship with Natasha isn't purely...work-related?" Emery asked.
"I...I don't know," I said. Before I could ask why that was relevant, I heard Nat honk the horn of her car.
"Hurry up slowpokes!" she yelled.
We all hurried out to the car and piled in. I called shotgun and got in beside Nat. She put the car into gear and gunned it down the road. We arrived at SHIELD headquarters a few minutes later. I made a mental note to never let Natasha drive when she was upset. Again.
Fury met us in the lobby once we'd flashed our badges through security.
"Glad you could make it," he said, nodding to the four of us.
"What have you got for us?" Natasha asked. She was in full-on spy mode. Nat was gone and Agent Romanoff had taken over.
Fury looked at us with his one good eye. "It's more of a who." He led us through the building to one of the holding rooms. These weren't cells—those were in a different wing—but rooms for witnesses who were considered in need of protective custody.
We stopped in front of the only room that was occupied. A woman sat at the table in the room, her hands clasped together.
"Katya?" Nat and Emery said at the same time.
"She came in this morning," Fury explained. "Said Agent Coulson had told her to call if she felt unsafe."
I wrinkled my nose. "Coulson?" I asked.
"Me," Emery said. "Have I mentioned I'm Phil Coulson's daughter?"
Natasha
"I've known you for how long and I didn't know you were related to Agent Coulson—let alone his daughter?" I asked Emery, my head spinning. Granted, I hadn't known she was a fellow agent until Alexei had shown up.
"I'm sorry, Nat. Nick—er, Fury wanted me to keep it quiet. Having a dad who died at the hands of an Asguardian is kinda a big deal and, well, as an agent it's kind of important to keep my family history a secret," Emery said. "Believe me, I wanted to tell you when Alexei first made a move at the bar, but I had strict orders."
She looked pointedly at Fury who just stood there with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Now that the flerkin is out of the bag...can we get back to our witness?" Fury said.
I nodded. "Right, so you said Katya came in this morning. What did she say exactly?"
"Miss Sanderson said she thought she was in danger. She was under the impression that she was being followed and wanted protection."
"Paranoia is normal, given the circumstances," Emery said. "It's not out of the question that Kristina or Alexei know where she lives."
"Right. Let's go in and talk to her. Find out everything we can." I beckoned to the guys and they followed us inside.
Katya stood up from the table upon seeing Emery and gave her a hug. She caught my eye across the table.
"Natasha," she said. "Are you..."
"I only want to help," I told her. "And that's our job—helping people."
She nodded, glancing nervously at Bucky and Steve.
"Katya, it is important that you tell us everything. Starting from the beginning. And remember, we can only help based on what we know," Emery said.
Katya took a deep breath. "It all started a few weeks ago—"
And that's when the SHIELD headquarters, one of the most secure places in the world, went dark.