Chasing Ghosts | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 9: Shots In The Dark

Katya

The flight to Madripoor was long. Really long. Katya had lost complete track of what time it was, what day it was and whether another night had passed in Washington DC or not. Because on top of the twenty-plus-hour flight, the time difference also played its part. Eventually, she figured out that indeed another night had passed in America, the weekend over and Monday marking the start of a new week.

Maya would be in school right now, her birthday the following day all that was on her mind. Natasha would be bored to death, probably. Maybe she had randomly started calling people  -- Clint, Tony -- just to have something to do. Or she finished the next season of their show. Katya had accepted that karma.

Zemo had somehow gotten clothes from somewhere, and somehow, they also fit perfectly. This man was creepy because he was too prepared. How long had this been Bucky's plan? 

Anyway, Sam looked fancy. The dark red three piece with the weird pattern on it suited him. He was less happy with the heeled boots he had to wear, but after Katya glared at him and showed her own six-inch heels, he shut up. Apparently, he was someone named the Smiling Tiger. ''The sophisticated, charming African rake named Conrad Mack,'' according to Zemo.

Bucky's outfit was the complete opposite of his. All black. Very Winter Soldier-y. Katya saw in his eyes that he tried not to panic, but he must feel horrible.

She kept tugging on her own outfit. It didn't quite fit right and her black thigh-high snakeskin boots kept falling down. The clothing didn't make her uncomfortable, despite it being so exposed. Body insecurity had never been a problem. She knew she looked great. This type of clothing just wasn't her usual style. 

The black two-piece with a very short high-waisted skirt exposed her stomach from her belly button to her bra band. Luckily, the crop top was a halter neck and covered her up really good. But her favorite thing must be the fur coat with -- how fitting -- tiger print. It provided her a lot of coverage and reached her knees. She prayed all the animal skin was fake, but Zemo didn't look like the kind of person who bought fake stuff.

''Why do I always have to be the hooker? Can't Sam be the hooker?'' she complained when she got out of the back of the plane to meet the three men waiting for her. Bucky was quick to respectfully avert his eyes from her revealing outfit, but Sam smiled and gave her an approving thumbs up, to which she rolled her eyes. At least she had gotten a gun and a couple knives.

''You're not a hooker,'' Zemo answered her without looking. He still wore the same clothes as before. ''You're Sam's assistant. The Smiling Tiger is known to never go anywhere without his beautiful personal bodyguard.''

She scrunched her nose a bit when he called her beautiful. It made her nauseous. ''My question still stands. And do I even want to know where you got this?'' He just smiled faintly and went into the cockpit to talk to his butler, which was probably for the best. She did feel a bit better knowing she wasn't just eye candy but a bodyguard, a fighter. 

''Maybe you can take this home, surprise Nat,'' Sam teased, almost wiggling his eyebrows. He was out for a glare or something like that, but she answered casually.

''Natalia likes red.''

''I can see that,'' Bucky muttered, referring to the faint red hickeys on her stomach. He still wasn't looking at her, but must have spotted them at the first glance. 

She smirked, enjoying how this made him uncomfortable. Steve never got quite comfortable with the easy way people talked about this sort of stuff either. ''If you want to hear about my sex life, all you have to do is ask.''