"I don't suppose you have any idea where they are?"
Tony raises his eyes and rolled them, much too annoyed to not answer Secretary Ross's questions.
It's been a long day.
Between the fact that Lorelie punched him in the nose, Barnes escaped with Steve, and a blossoming black eye, he was otherwise, okay.
"We will," Tony answered confidently. "GSG-9′s got the borders covered. Recon's flying 24/7. They'll get a hit."
"This will go faster if your Dark Witch decides to look for them," Secretary Ross announced, raising a challenging eyebrow. He's speaking through the monitor, all prim and proper.
For some reason, that seemed to annoy Tony even more.
"We'll handle it." He answers coolly, smiling through bitterness at Secretary Ross.
Tony knows that Lorelie could easily find them with her mirror projection but he won't let that happen.
He sees the drainage it's done to her.
The worry was inconsequential. He made a mental note to ask her what the hell was up with those black lights and what possessed her to throw herself at Barnes.
It had nearly given him a heart attack when the man choked her to the point she'd passed out.
Tony hid his fists behind his back, trying his best not to show he was clenching them.
He was not going to let Secretary Ross take advantage of his sister.
Though she may not say it, Tony knows she must be facing something else entirely at the moment.
The people she loved were going to go against each other and her inability to decide which side to choose just makes it worse.
Natasha sighs from beside him, already knowing what he must be thinking. The Spy had marched out of the room they kept his sister detained in, all angry and frustrated. He hadn't bothered asking why.
"You don't get it, Stark. It's not yours to handle. It's clear you can't be objective. I'm putting Special Ops on this." Secretary Ross bites out, wanting to see a reaction.
Tony frowns. If other people go against his team it'll end badly.
Maybe... Just maybe, he could still convince Steve.
What would Lorelie think?
"What happens when the shooting starts?" Natasha scoffs, injecting her opinion. "What, do you kill Steve Rogers?"
"If we're provoked." Secretary Ross says this flatly. "Barnes would've been eliminated in Romania if it wasn't for Rogers."
He let the sentence hang before continuing. "There are dead people who would be alive now. Feel free to check my math."
Tony rises upwards and crossed his arms over his chest. "All due respect, you're not going to solve this with boys in bullets, Ross. You gotta let us bring them in."
Secretary Ross raises an unimpressed eyebrow. "How would that end any differently from the last time?"
"Because this time--" Tony's anger was at the last end of the stick and he was struggling to keep it contained. "I won't be wearing loafers and a silk shirt."
Secretary Ross looks unconvinced as Tony glowers at him. Still standing determined, Tony remains harsh.
"72 hours, guaranteed."
Secretary Ross looks at Tony carefully. "Get the Dark Witch to help you." He says smoothly.
Tony's eyes narrowed into slits but Thaddeus Ross remains unguarded. This man just won't let it go.
"She hasn't decided," The older Stark defended in a rather flat tone. "Leave her out of this."
"Well, she's going to have to decide real soon," Ross announces mysteriously. "It won't matter if you speed up the process."
Tony withheld the biggest sigh. He knows that Secretary Ross intends on using Lorelie for her powers. Hell, if he didn't have the legal documents proving Lorelie was his biological sister, they would have done anything to keep her in their hands.
A headache brewed in the corner of his mind when he was reminded just how hard he had to fight against Fury to get him to give her up.
"As I recall, during the extraction of Barnes in Romania she was with the Winter Soldier."
Natasha's green eyes were practically glowing with anger. "So what? You're going to condemn her too?"
"Facts, Romanoff. We have more than enough of it to put her away."
He was blackmailing them.
Secretary Ross faces Tony and nods. "36 hours. Barnes. Rogers. Wilson."
"Thank you, sir." Tony watches him go, the monitor turning off. He's unsure if the burning in his chest was relief or something else entirely.
Sitting down, he rubbed his hand to his chest in aggravation, teeth gritted. His arc reactor was aching, which was odd because it was no longer connected to him.
"My left arm is numb, is that normal?" He asks the Russian.
Natasha sighs and pats him on the shoulder. "You alright?"
"Always." He smiles weakly, before frowning. "36 hours, jeez."
"With Lorelie, we might be able to find them faster," Natasha suggested.
Tony shook his head. "Do you really think she will? I remember her punching my nose for asking her to choose."
Natasha nods in understanding. No one can choose for Lorelie but herself. The two of them were officially on their own.
Natasha looks over the office, her gaze finding T'Challa at the bottom floor, walking away with his people.
"We're seriously understaffed." She tells Tony.
"Oh, yeah. It'd be great if we had a Hulk right about now. Any shot?"
Natasha shakes her head. "No. You really think he'd be on our side?"
Tony lets out a flat; "No."
The stood of them sat silently, mulling through their thoughts before the Russian announces her plan. "I have an idea."
"Me too," Tony adds. "Where's yours?"
"Downstairs." Natasha smiles knowingly. "Where's yours?"
Tony remains quiet and his thoughts ran free at the idea of a certain kid down in Queens.
Desperate times. Desperate measures.
;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;-;
Natasha strolls leisurely along the parked cars of T'challa's envoy.
Her thoughts are filled with doubts and worries.
Mainly for the girl locked up in the office several meters away.
The Russian had no idea what to do with her.
Lorelie won't choose and it doesn't take an idiot to know that the girl will try to stop them no matter what. It angered her, but most of all, it worried her.
"It's just a matter of time. Our satellites are running facial, biometric, and behavioral pattern scans."
Natasha straightens herself upon seeing T'Challa and his people walking towards her.
She knew the soon-to-be King was going after Barnes, which means this plan of hers would work.
T'Challa stops momentarily and raises an eyebrow at the former Spy who smiles at him in greeting.
His guard approached Natasha with a dangerous glint in her gaze. "Move, or you will be moved."
Natasha is not fazed. She remains unguarded, one eyebrow raised and her red hair flawless.
"As entertaining as that would be..." T'Challa smirks, his grin hidden.
Natasha crosses her arms over her chest and regards T'Challa with ease. "You really think you can find him?"
"My resources are considerable." He replies coolly, not threatened by the Black Widow.
Natasha smiles falsely. "Yeah, it took the world 70 years to find Barnes... so you could probably do that in about half the time."
She can see that she got T'Challa's interest. He moves closer to her, a determined glint in his dark eyes.
"You know where they are." He deduced.
Natasha nods quietly. "I know someone who does."
T'Challa wasn't an idiot, Natasha knows this. She was asking him to assist them in taking down Steve's team, using his revenge as a tool for their plan. In return he gets Barnes.
T'Challa raised a hand and his people disperse, walking out of earshot to give them more privacy.
"What do you ask of me Black Widow?" He asks her.
Natasha shifts on her feet and glances around. "I'll help you find them, that's all you need to know."
T'Challa smiles, knowing the Russian's vague answers. "In return, you want my help in taking down the Captain?"
Natasha smiles sweetly. "You can say that,"
The two of them stared at each other, the tension rising between them.
"Barnes is mine," He clarifies and Natasha released a heavy exhale.
He was in.
"Get ready to suit up," Natasha turns on her heel and heads back to the building, her voice echoing. "As soon as we get a hit, we'll be leaving."
"The girl who fights for herself,"
T'Challa voice rings loud enough for Natasha to pause mid-step, hands to her sides.
Lorelie.
He was talking about Lorelie.
"What about her?" She turns, green eyes narrowing at T'Challa whose gaze is on the building before them, dark eyes unfocused.
"I want..." He pauses for a moment, mulling his own thoughts over before leveling the Black Widow with a blank expression, not once giving anything away. "...reassurance."
"She hasn't signed anything." She tells him flatly. "She'll be detained here until we get the others."
T'Challa nods once, apparently satisfied. He turns to get into his vehicle but the former Spy remains suspicious.
If he wanted to make sure the other side didn't have powerful enough allies to oppose them it was understandable, but why the sudden question? Why was he asking about Lorelie directly?
Then it clicks.
"You wanted her to join us," Natasha frowns, brows furrowing, her gaze to the floor in thought before she raises them to see T'Challa staring right back. "Why?"
T'Challa places a hand over the opened door of the car as he shakes his head, letting loose a scoff. "Because the only one capable of stopping Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, is her."
They parted ways after that, T'Challa promising Natasha that he will be in contact with her.
As Natasha walks back into the building she can't help but trail her eyes over to the black SUVs all driving away in a single file.
Her gaze found the floor, arms crossed in thought as T'Challa's words echo in her mind.
He was right.
Lorelie was the only one strong enough to take them both down.
And that scares Natasha knowing so many people realize this.
Take Lorelie out of the equation, and the group would be evenly matched.
"And if I chose a side? If I let it go, what happens next?"
How long had the younger Stark known this? Was this the reason why she was so adamant about not choosing?
"Steve gets arrested, Bucky gets thrown in jail, Tony breaks the Avengers and where do I stand?"
Natasha sighs and runs a hand through her red hair in apparent stress. There was no winning for Lorelie no matter who she chose.
They were asking too much from the girl who wanted nothing but for it all to stop.