Locked Within Their Labyrinth

A New Head of Hydra

The black corvette pulled up by the gates of the large Manor House. Gideon Malik was hosting the bi-monthly Hydra heads meeting. Natalia rolled down her window and presented the guard with her ID and credentials. She was scanned through. She was late, only about five minutes so but it was intentional. It would mean all the attention would be on her.

Someone showed her to the main room. She heard Gideon's loud voice echoing authoritatively. The doors swung open and she stepped in. All eyes were on her. In the corner she spied an attractive young man half concealed in shadows fingering the trigger of his gun. She wanted to roll her eyes but refrained from doing so. "Who are you?" Gideon was reaching under his desk.
"Natalia Romanova."
"What is your purpose Miss Romanova?"
"I am here as representative of Ivan Petrovich. I am sure you are all well aware of his current condition."
"Yes of course Miss Romanova. Please, take a seat."

Suspicious glances were thrown her way as she sat. Gideon cleared his throat and began again. "Shield has become a big problem. With the defection of our asset and the assembling of the avengers we are outnumbered."
"We can't forget Coulson's team either."
"No, they've been on our tail for a while, we need to take immediate action. Ward, what can you tell us about the team." The attractive man made his way over.
"They're fools. Dangerous and smart fools but still fools. They have sentiment. Capture one and they'll all fall." Murmurs rose around the table.

"So we've got that sorted. Now for the bigger problem, the avengers."
"They only come in during global catastrophes." Head swivelled in her direction. She raised an eyebrow. "The avengers were created by Shield as a way to please the public, have them take on aliens and robots whilst their agents take on corrupt business men. Shield is a spy agency, the only reason they're so public is so that the 'spy' part can do its job without too much attention."
"And how would you know this?" Ward was glaring at her.
"Oh please Ward, spare me. You know exactly who I am and how I know."
"Last I heard you took down the Triskelion and all of Hydra's helicarriers."
"I had to maintain my cover, but you'd know all about that wouldn't you agent Grant Ward."
"Your cover? It was pretty damn convincing, what with the whole releasing every secret of ours on the Internet."
"Convincing? Of course it was convincing I'm the fucking Black Widow." Gasps came from several people.
"We should continue."
"I agree."
"What about our asset? Or the Strike team?"
"One, he's not yours anymore, he broke through his conditioning. And two, I was apart of the Strike team, along with Clint Barton, Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes."
"How do we deal with them?"
"You don't."

Confused looks were exchanged. "As of 48 hours ago their bodies were dumped into the Hudson. Each one has a bullet in their brain."
"How?"
"I did it."
"But Shostakov said he had them in custody, why hasn't he told us? In fact why isn't he here?"
"I killed him too." People blanched. Hands tightened around their weapons.

Natalia pushed back her chair and stood up. Ward eyed her warily as she planted her hands on the wooden table and leaned in towards Gideon. "I killed him, I took a knife and plunged it into his gut. I listened to him beg, I watched him cry and I twisted it in further. I told him that it was time for a change, that it was time for a new leadership." She twitched her fingers and Gideon's eyes bugged. He slumped sideways and fell to the floor, not before his blood had stained the table. Several people jumped for their guns, she didn't even look at them as she took Gideon's hidden pistol and fired. Others tried to escape through the door but Ward was there, he caught Natalia's eye and unloaded a clip into the deserters' chests. She nodded in approval. She waved a hand to silence the remaining members.

No one moved. She paced, twiddling the bloody dagger between her fingers. Someone coughed and she spun quickly, the blade hurtling through the air and lodging itself in the persons forehead. He fell from his chair and still no one moved. She had a reputation, everyone knew it. Even Ward kept still. Some idiot tried to pull out their gun. Their neck was snapped seconds later. "You know what? I'm bored of this." BANG BANG BANG.

She used the idiots gun to shoot several more people. She kept going until the round was empty and there were three left. She tossed the gun to the ground and stared at what was left of Hydra's legacy. "Strucker, Malik and Ward. I hereby declare us the new heads of Hydra." Thin and reedy Strucker looked calculatingly at all the blood, tall and blonde Malik simply pursed her lips and nodded. Ward however adorned a predatory smile. "You three are the newest generation therefore understand the importance of change. Strucker, your old man was killed in Sokovia, his greed blinded him. Malik, your father was power hungry and ambitious, but his reluctance to do what needed to be done brought about his death. Ward, now if I'm being honest I don't trust you, any of you but you Ward especially. You're a double agent, and a damn good one but Garret's selfishness killed him. I admire your self preservation skills but from now on you dedicate yourself entirely to the cause. I feel any sort of doubt about your loyalty and I take you out. Shoot first ask questions later. This goes for all of you, am I clear?" All nodded. "Good, then let's get to work."

Natalia stepped over the bodies and exited the study. "We need a new headquarters, and I know just where to go." They followed her, Strucker and Malik unsurely. She whistled an old tune as she swung her hips and slid into her corvette. They were going recruiting.

A/N I'm so tired but winterwidow fics are dwindling so thought I'd make a start on this. :)