Her Hidden Past

- Chapter Twenty Six -

Natasha slipped from the vents into Clint's room once again. She stifled a yawn quickly heading to the go bag Clint had packed her things into. A clean change of clothes and she'd head to bed she decided. She placed a blanket on top of the bed, and slipped a knife and a gun under the pillow.

Natasha awakened with a start to the ringing of a cell phone. It was several hours after she had heard Clint slip into the room.

"Barton," She heard Clint answer it, his voice a little rough from being woken.

"Clint Barton, how nice to hear from you," Medvedev's voice filled the room as Clint put the phone on speaker.

"Medvedev," Clint replied sourly. "What do you want?"

"Where is my dear Natalia?"

"You didn't hear?" Clint let his voice break. "She's dead."

"Liar," Medvedev spat. "I know you've faked the medical records to make it look like she's dead. Her enhancers would have kept her alive."

"It's true, I swear," Clint forced the words out as if he didn't want to say them. His voice caught again making it sound like he was holding off tears.

"Her enhancers would never have allowed it to happen," Medvedev denied it again.

"Tell that to whatever Lisov stuck on the bullet he shot her with in London," Clint spat. "The wound wasn't healing. She never recovered after you tore her stitches in Iowa. She fell into a coma after her stitches were torn again by Ward. They couldn't-" He broke off, unable to finish. 

"Lisov," It was Medvedev's turn to spit. "He thought she'd come back to us if she stopped healing."

"She would never have come back, no matter what you did," Clint snapped. "And now she's gone."

"This never would have happened if I was in charge," Medvedev snapped before the line went dead.

"Well that was abrupt," Clint stared at the phone in his hand.

"He'll be checking my medical files again," Natasha sighed, flopping back onto the bed. "He'll be looking for evidence of the bullet wound."

"He'll get his proof," Clint sighed.

"Yes he will," Natasha agreed softly. "Why are you still up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Clint acknowledged. "Must have drifted off though."

"Come to bed," Natasha ordered softly. "You need to sleep."

Medvedev slammed the phone down. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. Natalia couldn't be dead. His prized Agent and protege. Her enhancers would not allow her to die from such a simple wound. Lisov had killed her. He hacked into her medical records again. He searched through all the files, finding they had been moved to the deceased agent records. Keeping his anger under control he dialled Ward's number immediately.

"This is Ward," Ward's sleepy voice answered the phone after only two rings.

"Have you any reason to believe it could be possible that Natalia isn't dead?"

"No, Sir," Ward replied. "Barton is distraught. He took off on his own to bury her, Coulson had to chase him down and bring him back."

"So you believe his reaction to be genuine?" Medvedev confirmed.

"Yes, he seemed very upset," Ward couldn't hold back his smugness. "He was barely holding himself together. I never understood why everyone thought they were so special."