(𝟮.𝟮) 𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐋𝐄𝐃𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐒 ➣ {𝕪•𝕓} ❘ [𝖇𝖑𝖆𝖈𝕶𝖜𝖎𝖉𝖔𝖜 𝖝 𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗]

🗡𝔣𝔦𝔳𝔢 ❘ 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔

Making way down the corridor, Asher, Kathleen, and Nico walked towards the shared apartment in the end of the hall.

"At this rate," Asher stepped backwards in front of Nico and Kathleen, "I'm gonna be the only single one."

"Oh come on, Ash," Nico offered a smile, "I'm sure you're knight in shining armour is somewhere out there."

"The lack of it explains my singleness."

"Oh, cut it out," Kathleen shoved him to the side with a huffed chuckle, "At least you'll have me to keep you company."

"Oh yeah, that's comforting," Asher rolled his eyes sassily, pulling the apartment's keys from his pockets.

After unlocking it, the door swung open the the trio saw the silhouette of an intruder in the middle of the dark room.

Nico held up hands in front of her, forming ice blasts in them; Kathleen's eyes glowed white and sparkled with electricity; Asher stood in front the two protectively, ready to throw a punch.

"There'll be no need for that," The room light up automatically. Elizabeth waved a hand nonchalantly, seated with her legs crossed, "I just wanna talk."

"Who are you?" Nico asked, stepping forward and the other two followed closely, shutting the door.

"An ally," she shot up from the chair, walked around and stood behind it, "Or even a friend. Depends on you, really. Asher, Nico, Kathleen," she nodded at each of them, "Nice to meet the 'Enhanced Trinity'," she used the name that HYDRA had give to them.

"How'd you find us?" Asher crossed his arms, his biceps bulged as he did so.

"You guys weren't exactly hiding," she explained, "And plus, I had help from a friend. It has come to my attention that we have similar interests," she locked eyes with the supersoldier, "To take down the Red Recluse."

Nico, Kathleen, and Asher stiffened at the name. They had put dumped the memory of the assassin in the past, no matter how much it haunted their minds. 

"What about here?" Kathleen asked emotionlessly.

"Haven't you been watching the news?" Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in disbelief, "Captain America sided with his war buddy, refused to sign a few papers, and ran away with him and a couple of other to La la land."

"Dmitri sided with the government," Kathleen added, "We know all of that drama."

"But," she raised a finger, "Did the government accept her? Do they really trust her? Or are they looking for an opportunity to prove and make her pay for her crimes?" he quirked her eyebrows with a vicious smirk.

Nico, Kathleen, and Asher furrowed their eyebrows in curiosity. Elizabeth continued, "Stark and Romanoff were the only ones standing in the way. But now even the beloved Ironman is heartbroken after his pals split up," she mock pouted, "And Romanoff's on the run, getting on Secretary Ross's nerves. And now, that the Avengers are all divorced and depressed," she drawled in a bored tone, "We have an advantage. And I could really use some people like you," she pointed at each one of them.

"You think it's easy to kill an Avenger?" Asher snorted, "Just like that? I mean, do you even know the first thing about Dmitri? Do you know exactly what she's capable of?"

"Ash, don't," Kathleen warned him.

"You're father was Edgar Slade," Elizabeth spoke, "I've met him a handful of times. And you mom too, Kate Asano," she added to Nico, who gulped at the mention of her mother, "Too soft and cheery to be a HYDRA agent, in my opinion."

"I didn't even get to meet my own dad," Asher carried on, "All because of Dmitri."

"She killed all of our parents," Kathleen hugged herself, suddenly feeling vulnerable, "Strangled mine to death. With the metal wires of a stethoscope."

"Mine were," Asher held up a finger-gun, placed it near his temple, and clicked his tongue.

"She's the reason we're orphaned," Nico said coldly, leaning back on the wall, "And people have the audacity to call a cold-blooded murderer, a hero? An Avenger? I mean," she scoffed humourlessly.

"I've seen the post mortem reports," Elizabeth nodded solemnly, "It was heavily deciphered by Black Widow. Took me a while to crack through it."

"And by the way, what will you get from killing Dmitri?" Asher voiced out the other two's query.

"Simple. I just want her dead," Elizabeth leaned forward, resting her palms on the head of the chair, "Just as much as you do. The million dollar question here is, whether you're in, or not."

"What if they trace her back to us?"

"Oh, don't you worry about that," she waved it off. "That's something for me to worry about."

Getting revenge was something that has been on the trio's checklist for a very long time. Asher looked up from the floor and caught Nico's and Kathleen's eyes, which had an expression of finality in them. This was their chance and they weren't going to let it slip.

"So," Elizabeth looked from one to another in slight impatience, "Do we have a deal?"

"We don't want to kill anybody," Kathleen made her opinion clear; Asher nodded at this.

"Yeah," Nico watched the bustling city out of the window at the far end of the room, "Killing her may or may not be easy. But making her suffer is what'll bring satisfaction."

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