Invisible string | Yelena Belova

three

"We have to get out here," Natasha said, interrupting the silence that had stretched through the entire train ride.  Cole nodded and stepped out of the train after her. Cole followed Natasha silently, although he still didn't know their destination.

They arrived at a door leading to a courtyard and walked slowly through it without attracting much attention.

They went into a building and entered the elevator. He noticed how tense Nat was. 

"Do you want to tell me who we're visiting here?", he asked carefully.

She sighed before answering him, "My sister," and without another word, she walked out of the elevator that had arrived on the right floor.

In the hallway, she opened a compartment in the wall and Cole saw her take out a pistol and ammunition from it. He gave Nat a questioning look, but she just handed him a pistol and he didn't dig any further. Carefully, she took a key from her pocket and gently put it into the lock. 

"I'll secure the rest of the building", Cole said quietly, walking up the stairs with his gun loaded.

He had just arrived one floor up when he heard loud noises from the apartment where Natasha had disappeared. He quickly ran downstairs and opened the door that Nat had left open a crack for him.

Cole ran down the hall toward the room where the sounds were coming from. When he arrived, he saw Natascha fighting with a blonde woman and saw her throw Natascha to the floor. Cole realized that the two had not noticed him and used his moment of surprise. 

With big steps, he went towards the woman, grabbed her arm, tossed her over his shoulder so that she landed hard on her back, and held her arms tightly. When their eyes met he immediately saw the surprise in her eyes but also another emotion he couldn't identify. The woman struggled against his grip, but quickly realized that she could not free herself.

"I thought we were going to visit your sister", he said to Natasha, who slowly stood up. "It's complicated," she replied, giving him a nod that he could let go of the woman. 

"I'm going to let go now, and you're not going to attack me", he said firmly to the woman while looking deep into her eyes.

She just groaned angrily, but he let go of her and walked toward Nat. 

"Are you okay?", Cole asked her worriedly.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied, throwing him a grateful smile.

Then she turned back to her sister and said something to her in Russian. The woman answered bored and then straightened up again. The three of them went into the kitchen and Nat seemed visibly relaxed, although Cole still wasn't sure if he could really trust the woman.

"You had to come to Budapest, didn't you?" asked Nat, her sister, who was helping herself to her refrigerator and eyeing Cole suspiciously.

"I came here because I thought you wouldn't. But since you're here... What bullet does that?", said the blonde woman, pointing to the wall behind them, and Cole immediately recognized the traces of Clint's arrows.