Winter's Widow

Chapter 25: Hunted

"Natasha's not on coms," Clint's voice echoed in my head as I snapped my head in his direction.

"What do you mean, she's not on coms?" The archer looked over his shoulder at me from the pilot's seat on the quinjet.

"I mean she cut out. We don't have her." I inhaled sharply, holding onto the handle by the open door, staring into the jungle below us.

"Get me closer," I murmured, spinning and reaching for my glider-pack.

"Winter no, it's too risky," Clint argued. I slammed my palm into the back of his seat, making him jump.

"Barton, it's Natasha. I'm going." Clint sighed, but to my relief, the quinjet tilted down.

"You've got an opening in five, four, three..." I continued the count in my head before jumping out of the open drop door, opening the glider once I was clear of the belly of the jet, gliding down into a corner of an open, clear, field below. We had been in South America before, but these druglords were beginning to experiment with their own versions of the serum, and we couldn't let them get their hands on something that could potentially work. Natasha had gone in alone to wipe the hard drive and copy the data and get out. It usually would be a simple mission for her, and the fact that she wasn't back or communicating with the rest of the team could only mean one thing – trouble. I crouched upon landing, folding the glider back into its pack, pulling my handgun and moving forward into the jungle. I heard fire exchanged in front of me. "Do you have eyes on Nat?" Clint's voice crackled loudly in my ear, and I hissed at the sudden sound, ducking behind a tree.

"Barton, they're exchanging fire," I hissed into the microphone. I immediately heard the whine of an engine as Clint spun the quinjet around, laying a row of raking fire in the direction we were pointed. I used the cover to run forward, sliding into a ditch – right beside a pinned-down Russian former-assassin.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed at me, eyes wide in disbelief. I looked over the edge of the ditch, firing a couple of shots in generally the right direction before ducking back down.

"You weren't on coms." Natasha's eyes widened and she looked like she was going to argue, but suddenly the corners of her mouth twitched up in her famous smile.

"Were you worried about me, Winter?" She teased. I scrunched my nose at her, trying to play angry.

"It's just more fun when you're around," I grinned, shifting my position and glancing over the edge of the ditch again. I felt Natasha do the same beside me.

"Good to see you, Kasey," she smiled, glancing at me sideways.

"You too, Romanoff." She crouched, pointing a finger towards the ditch and mouthing a plan. I nodded.

"Cover me," she ordered. I did.

Five hours later, we arrived back at the compound none the worse for wear. Tony stopped Natasha when she moved to go to her room.

"Is it true that the agent here saved your ass, Romanoff?" He teased. I glared at him, and Natasha's smirk widened into a full-out smile.

"At least I know she'd actually try to save me, Stark." She snarked at him. I couldn't help but chuckle. Touché, Natasha.

...

After spending some time with the new baby leopard, Yelena and I followed two members of the Dora Milaje and we piled into the back of a pop-top jeep, standing in the back as one of the warriors began driving out of the city. We were headed to the field where the initial battle against Thanos had taken place and where the snap occurred. We drove in silence as we approached the battlefield, and I could feel my knuckles tighten on the railings of the jeep as we approached the area. I felt a hand put pressure lightly on my lower back and looked up to see Yelena watching me closely. "Are you okay?" she mouthed to me, not wanting to break the silence. I hesitated, but finally nodded. Her other arm gripped the railing to my left side, and her right hand continued its pressure on my lower back as she stood behind me, securing me in the jeep. I couldn't help but smile, despite the memories that I was being flooded with. Wanda stood right there and levitated those gear dirt things. There was no way to tell how many outriders she had killed when she slammed them back to the ground. The scorch mark in the grass was barely visible, but could still barely be seen where Thor had landed with Groot and Rocket. The Dora who was driving stopped the jeep, and I climbed out, finding it difficult to believe that I was really back here. I knelt and dug my fingers into the dirt as if I could feel the residual energy from that day still present. Yelena crouched beside me, doing the same. "I can almost feel her here, you know?" My breath caught in my throat at her confession. I stole a glance at her, but she wasn't looking at me. Her eyes were fixated on the ground in front of her and I watched her cheeks inflate as she exhaled a slow breath and looked away. I touched her shoulder lightly, and when she looked up at me, I pointed to an area not too far away.

"In that ditch over there, Natasha and Okoye fought off the big, blue, horned baddie," I smiled as Yelena grinned, following my eyes.

"Did she do her fighting pose?" I looked off for a minute, trying to remember.

"You know, I actually think she did," I chuckled, and a smile instantly appeared on Yelena's face. She walked towards the edge of the ditch before jumping down, looking around and nodding approvingly.

"It's a good place to fight," she nodded. A shout behind us caused both of us to look up immediately, and we jogged over to the Dora Milaje, who were examining something on the ground just outside the boundary of the dome.

"What's that?" I asked, staring at the contraption in front of us. The dora took her staff, planting it on the device and I jumped when it snapped closed, nearly denting the vibranium. "The fuck?" The dora stood, motioning for her partner to come over.

"Poachers," she explained. I frowned.

"They're what?" Yelena asked, confused. I sighed and explained. Her eyes darkened immediately. "Are they still close?" She asked. The Doras exchanged glances but finally nodded. "Let's go get the bastards." She asserted. The rest of us nodded our agreement.

An hour later, I watched through binoculars as Yelena settled herself amidst some bushes with a long-range rifle, pressing her cheek to the barrel and searching through the site. It was strangely hot. The coms chirped in my ear. "Eyes on dust – there's a truck coming from the west," Okoye's voice crackled. I nodded, adjusting my position and focusing my binoculars in that direction. I squinted and enhanced the view until I could make out the outline of a jeep inside the cloud of dust, and I frowned, trying to see details of anyone inside. The loud crack of a rifle shot jolted me out of my mind, however, and I swung my binoculars back towards Yelena's position. I saw movement to the rear – it was a flanking maneuver. It was a fucking trap, and the only way for her not to be hurt was for me to reveal my position. I inhaled sharply, climbing to my feet, breathing deeply a few times before making my move. "Yelena!" I shouted as I pushed my hands outwards, away from my body, shooting a jolt of electricity towards the man coming up behind her. Yelena spun instantly, using the butt of her gun as a blunt object and smashing it into the frozen man's temple and he fell to the ground, jerking. I sighed in relief, but it was short-lived as I heard another crack from behind me. I looked up to see Yelena running towards me, but she seemed to be moving in slow motion. Then she seemed to be getting taller – or I was getting shorter. I was falling over, that's what was happening. I looked down to see blood on my hands, frowning, looking back up at the blond that was sprinting towards me as quickly as possible. Then everything went black.