Paper Rings; M. Hill (on hold)

Fourteen.

January  13, 2008
Location: Budapest

Adelaide did not in fact go get 'her girl' in Clint's words, instead, she got ready for a mission to Budapest. The final step in Natasha's defection to SHIELD was taking down Dreykov, and who better to help her than the two that brought her in...at least in Fury's opinion. The man still was not very happy with Adelaide and Clint.

"There's no way in hell I'm getting in that elevator," Adelaide stated in a hushed voice, and Natasha looked at her like she had two heads, "Would you rather go up the stairs? You know we're like several levels up?"

"I would much rather climb some stairs than get trapped in that...thing."

Natasha looked at Clint, "And she's a SHIELD Agent?"

The man shrugged, "Yeah, I'm with Red on this one, I'd rather take my chances with the elevator."

"The two of you are both crazy." Adelaide shook her head, Clint stepped into the elevator, "Come on Laurie, it's fine."

She stared at the elevator for a couple of seconds, "Fine." she then looked between Clint and Natasha, "But if we get trapped it's on both of you."

They didn't get trapped, they made it up to their floor safe and sound, "This the one?" Clint nodded to the door.

Adelaide hummed, picking the lock, a couple of seconds later she pushed the door open, "After you."

After sweeping the place for anyone that could be loitering they settled down a bit at a table that sat in the kitchen.

"So what exactly is the plan here?" Adelaide asked pulling her hair back out of her face, Clint sets a file folder on the table. 

"Well, we know he has a daughter, Antonia." Clint spoke, "Probably our best way to locate him, figure out his routine."

Natasha's eyes seemed distant to Adelaide, and she could understand why...at least partially. She had been the only one Natasha would talk to, she was the one to hear just a portion of the horrors that took place in the Red Room. 

It was difficult to believe that a man like Dreykov, had a child of his own.

"Ok, so we...watch her for a couple of days? Or?" Adelaide questioned, and Natasha nodded, "Yeah, that's the best we can do for now."

That's what they did over the next few days, they collected what they believed to be a reliable amount of information to form a plan.

Adelaide was already seated at the table, drinking some god-awful tea she made, Clint tripped over the threshold as he approached the blonde, "Walk much?" she teased.

"You know what, Laurie?" he glared. 

A small smile tugged at Adelaide's lips, "We've been here for four days, and you've managed to trip on that threshold, literally every day."

"It's true," Natasha pipped up, also taking a seat at the table. The blonde slid her a mug of tea, which she of course didn't drink. It was a habit for her not to trust the food and drink she was given that wasn't already fully sealed in a pre-packaging. 

The redhead also knew that purely based on her observations since she had known Adelaide, the woman could not make a decent cup of tea to save her life.

"You two make quite the tag team." Clint pointed between the two of them, pulling out one of the wooden chairs. 

Adelaide smiled, "Yeah we do."

After a beat of silence, the blonde cleared her throat, "Well, Dreykov has too much security to get by with a snipper..." 

"It's going to have to be bombs." Natasha stated, and both Adelaide and Clint looked at her, "You want to blow up the whole building?"

"There's no other way," Natasha spoke, her eyebrows pulled together in deep thought. 

"Ok," Clint started, "So we rig bombs...how do we assure he's going to be there?"

Natasha pressed her lips together, "...Antonia."

"We are not killing a child." Adelaide quickly spoke, drawing both Clint's and Natasha's eyes to her. 

Clint nodded, "I agree, we can't kill that kid."

Natasha swallowed, "Then we do it right before she goes to the building."

The whole idea of Antonia being anywhere near the location where they would set off bombs, made a sick feeling fall over Adelaide.

"It's the only way to be sure, he's there." Natasha paused, "To be sure he can't keep running the organization."

"So, we're really doing this?" Adelaide asked, "This is the plan?"

"Tomorrow," Natasha confirms, and Clint nods. 

"We need confirmation, Dreykov's in the building." Clint's voice cut through the static radio. Natasha sat in a car alone, both Clint and Adelaide having control over when to set off the bombs. 

A black car pulled up in front of the building and Natasha watched closely, she of course recognized. They had been keeping tabs on where Antonia had been each day, and what she was being driven around in. 

"His car is pulling up now."

A man opened the door to the backseat and out stepped little Antonia, a red backpack over both of her shoulders and her hair falling in two perfect braids, small red ribbons tying both of them off. 

The little girl basically skipped into the building, and moments later Natasha saw her through one of the larger glass windows. 

Dreykov was in that building...in that room.

"Natasha, we clear?"

The red-haired woman didn't respond right away, looking at Antonia through the window she felt guilty...but then she thought of her sisters, and how they had gone through probably just as much as she had.

How they had experienced the terrors the Dreykov inflicted.

She thought of the family she had once had...despite the fact that it was seemingly very fake, she could never quite get past it.

Natasha rarely saw them in passing, they were all within completely different levels in the red room.

She sometimes thought about the fact that Yelena and Tatiana probably did see each other...them both being very similar ages, only months apart. 

Natasha wished she could protect them, and wondered if they did their best to protect each other. They had to be alive. 

Yelena and Tatiana were smart, Natasha had to believe they were still alive. 

Natasha inhaled deeply, "All clear."

Seconds later the bombs went off.

Eight days later the trio still had yet to make it out of Budapest, and now they found themselves hiding out in the air vents. 

"Tic-tac-toe anyone?" Adelaide suggested a tiny smile on her face, despite the week they had all just experienced. 

"You're on, Laurie," Clint stated. 

Over the next two days, many games of tic-tac-toe and hangman were etched into the sides of the vents. 

Stories that would probably never be repeated were told within the quietness (well not really, there was still the sound of puffs of air, and rattling) of the vents.

Soon enough the trio was on their way back to SHIELD Headquarters, they made (and would continue to make) quite the team.