Ghosts Of The Past | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 5: An Old Fashioned Car Chase

Everyone dove in different directions. Or well, Yelena dove into another direction than Katya and Natasha, because they always stuck together. The brunette just saw Yelena stuff the vials in her backpack and grab a set of keys before the ceiling came down. Literally. 

From the apartment above, they had made a hole into the floor, and a big chunk of concrete fell into the living room below with an insane amount of noise. In a reflex, Katya ducked and ran after Natasha without making a single sound. They'd both lost Yelena out of sight, which wasn't smart. She had the vials.

Carefully, the two snuck around the apartment, into the same room they'd been in before. If they peeked around the corner, they could see into the living room. But Katya didn't have to look to know what was going on, because red lasers swept the apartment. The kind of lasers one would find on a rifle. And given that technology, she could only assume these people belonged with the robot soldier from before. 

Natasha stood closest to the corner, facing that way, so Katya couldn't see the look in her eyes. However, it couldn't be a good one. Not after what Yelena just dropped on her shoulders.

Speaking of Yelena, the shooting started when she ran from the kitchen to the room the others were in, crossing the hallway in the process. Natasha gripped her shoulders and pushed her against the wall to keep her there, since it wasn't clear if her plan was to run away and leave them there or not. 

However, she didn't try and fight. Instead, her hand reached for a switch to her right. When it turned, the lamps in the hallway blew with a lot of smoke.

It temporarily blinded their assailants, and they took that opportunity to charge at them, momentarily take them out and crash through the front door. The apartment was a trap after all, and they needed out of there. More people would be coming. It wasn't just the two who dropped down from the ceiling.

The trio took shelter by the lift, or at least tried to. Since the stairwell was partly open, shots fired from the courtyard also made it into the building. On top of that, two assassins also shot from the stairs, a level or so down. All of it bounced off the metal and plastic around them, not once getting close enough to one of the women to wound them. 

Katya was going to get her gun out to shoot back, but Yelena stuck her hand in her backpack and came up with a grenade. A small one. It wouldn't do that much damage. But it was perfect for throwing down a stairwell. She pulled the pin and threw it. 

They didn't wait for the explosion, and since Yelena obviously knew where she was going, they followed her.

''Where are we trying to get?'' Natasha shouted when Yelena's escape plan led them upstairs and they had to duck again to protect their faces from the breaking glass on their right.

''Motorbike! East side of the building,'' Yelena answered over her shoulder, running up one step after the other without looking back.

''I don't suppose you own two?'' Katya called forward, since she was the last in the row. It was nice that Yelena had a plan, but what good would one motorcycle be if they were with three people? Looked like someone will miss their bike tomorrow.

''Why would I have two if I am alone?'' Yelena yelled back, leading them through the building to the roof, which they slid down and ran over. Katya could hear the running footsteps of another person behind them. So they sprinted as careful as possible towards a way out. Which in this case, was a thick pipe, or maybe it looked more like a chimney. At least three foot in diameter and made of bricks. Reaching all the way down to the ground. 

It would hold all three of them. 

They wrapped their arms and legs about it like a koala would a tree. And as soon as Yelena pulled the pin out that secured it to the roof, it tipped over into the courtyard, away from the building and towards the ground. Katya couldn't do anything but hold on for dear life, and not look down. Because it was at least six stories up. Maybe more. And what waited below was about half a foot of water. A nightmare really.