Chasing Ghosts | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 13: Happy Birthday! I'm Sorry

''I thought we were going left?''

''You went the wrong way!''

''I was clearing the way!''

''I came out first. You were supposed to follow me.''

''And where are we now?''

''This is a barricade!''

''It's in every action movie!''

''Stop yelling in my ear, you idiots!'' Katya yelled over the noise. Some hunters had spotted her, so she dropped onto her stomach and quickly picked them off. 

And, of course, Sam and Bucky were yelling at each other again. Leave them alone for one second and they act like teenagers. Katya thought she only had to pull out the mother attitude at home. How they had gotten so far without ripping each other's throats out was a miracle. 

She was about to shoot another person, when the same thing happened as a few seconds ago: someone walked on top of the containers like she did, and fired their gun. And like last time, Katya was unable to stop it. You'd think she learned after the first time, but apparently she was rustier than expected.

Another explosion happened right before her eyes, blowing her hair back once again and returning the ring in her ears. Through the smoke, the gunman jumped down and took care of the three hunters on the ground. It was obvious who hid behind that ridiculous purple mask. The long leather coat was a dead giveaway.

And while Katya shook her head to shake off the shock, she just caught Sharon, Bucky and Sam running away from their hideout. 

Groaning, she pushed herself up and off the container, taking off in the direction Zemo went without any plan in mind. She couldn't lose him, but didn't even know what his game was. Would he try and run off, or come back to the group again? Because he was planning something, and that was never a good sign. 

Her shoes splashed in the puddles again, despite the morning sun warming the asphalt. Finding the others was easy; just follow the sounds of quick footsteps and container doors slamming shut. And there was also a sudden car engine roaring to life. Maybe Sharon's? 

But when Katya rounded another corner, she was met with an older model, Zemo smiling behind the wheel. His love of convertibles was very convenient when, say, someone wanted to put a bullet through his skull.

Everyone's eyes turned to her as she stalked towards the car. Bucky, Sharon and Sam all gathered around. ''Can I kill him now?''

Zemo calmly looked into the barrel of the gun that pointed at his skull, smiled knowingly, and then glanced at her calm expression. ''I thought that wasn't you anymore.'' Nothing about her expression or attitude changed, but he knew he was right. ''Besides, do you want to find Karli or not?''

''He's right. We need him.'' Bucky tried to snap her out of it, hoping to catch her gaze but failing. ''And there's two of us, and at least twenty of them.''

Katya narrowed her eyes at Zemo, who was still smiling. Giving in would feel like an embarrassment, but Bucky was right. From what she just saw, the guy could fight pretty well, and if there were indeed twenty supersoldiers in Karli's team, they heavily needed another soldier. 

''Fine,'' she growled, lowering her weapon. ''But if you try that shit again...''

''I wouldn't dream of it,'' he promised, although sarcastically. That would have to be enough for now. 

A bit reluctant, they got into the car with him. Bucky in the front, Sam behind him, and Katya next to Sam. It gave her a perfect opportunity to strangle Zemo from behind if she needed to, and she swore he shifted a bit when he realized that, too.