"Land!" Little Peter shimmied down the mast so quickly he almost got rope burn. He hopped onto the deck and ducked beneath the varying crew members. "Land sir! Land!" He pointed towards the smudge on the horizon as he clambered up onto the top deck and joined the captain.
"I see it son." Captain Rogers pulled out his telescope to get a better look. "It looks deserted."
"That's not the only thing."
"What is it Buck?" The first mate squinted at the upcoming island, his hand shielding his eyes from the sun.
"Not a single flag or a Shield emblem." Steve frowned.
"Sokovia lost contact a few years ago. I'm sensing a Hydra take over captain." Natasha joined them on deck, ruffling Petes hair as she passed. He shook it out again, grumbling and swatting at her hand. Bucky jumped off the side and pulled her in at the waist. She smacked his chest lightly before turning to Steve seriously. "Baron Strucker dropped off the grid during our crusades. His boat was last charted in these waters. It's possible he landed here, in which case I think it's best if we continue south towards Wakanda."
Steve shook his head in disagreement with his strategist. "I hear what you're saying but if you're correct then we can't leave these people to suffer. They were once my people." Natasha huffed in disapproval.
"At least take me with you. I think we should put out a scouting party first. Don't go in slinging swords and waving pistols until we know for certain that we can." Steve nodded.
"Wait! If she's going then I'm coming too."
"Sorry Buck but I need you here. If we don't come back within an hour then feel free to assemble a rescue team. But until then, this ship needs someone to oversee it in case I don't come back. Natasha's coming because she's my top strategist." Bucky crossed his arms and looked away. Natasha laughed and turned him towards her, kissing him gently.
Peter pulled on Steve's sleeve. "I wanna come too." Steve was about to say no but he couldn't resist the puppy dog eyes.
"Fine." Peter smiled wide in delight and ran off to go and find his small cutlass, custom made to fit him.
They put a small rowboat into the water and made way to shore. Stones crunched under their feet as Steve and Natasha jumped out to pull the boat further up. Peter almost fell over getting out. "Careful Pete."
As the made their way into the deserted town Peter wandered off. "Peter! Get away from there." He was peering through the slatted windows into a small shanty house. Huddled in the corner covered in barely more than rags, crouched a family of six. Peter waved at them and the little girl gave a small gap toothed grin before her mother pushed her behind her. A hand settled itself on Peter's shoulder and tugged him away. Natasha shook her head at him. "We'll come back for them. Remember this is a scouting op. That means hopefully no combat." Peters brown curls bounced as he stared up at her with wide eyes. She chucked him under the chin. "Chin up kiddo. No need to be so morose." She walked back over to Steve, pulling Peter behind her.
"We'll head up there." Steve pointed at the abandoned church tower. Natasha nodded in agreement and trusted Peter to trail after them as they made the climb.
"Hey Pete," Natasha waved the boy to come closer. She flipped a dagger out of her belt and offered it to him handle first. He stared up in wide eyes and she chuckled softly. "Why don't you guard the door whilst Cap and I check it out? That means you need to warn us if anyone is coming. It's a very important job, understand?" He nodded solemnly and took the dagger. "Good boy."
"I won't let you down aunty Nat." She ruffled his hair fondly before leaving him to enter the church. She cast a wary glance at the sun bathed courtyard before the heavy wooden doors shut between her.
It was dark. The little sun that filtered in from the rafters was absorbed by the cool stone. Something wasn't quite right. "Guard up Nat." She and Steve crept unintentionally closer, their weapons out and ready. A large book lay closed on a raised plinth. Never one to resist knowledge, Natasha opened it and flipped through the dusty pages. Old and yellowed parchment gave way to newer, cleaner pages with fresh ink scribbles and tally marks in the margins. Natasha frowned as she tried to decipher the language. "It looks like some sort of records book." Natasha shook her head, recognising the misshapen symbols.
"It's a slave market." She whispered grimly. Steve frowned. He was against slavery almost as much as she was.
The bells above clanged noisily as ropes dropped to the ground and several men descended upon the two. "Shit!" Steve didn't bother to reprimand her on her language as they positioned themselves defensively, back to back. Each held their swords in front of them but whereas Steve held his hand above his head like a nobleman, Natasha held hers behind her back, a dagger concealed within her closed fist. Steve had always frowned upon dirty play.
The clangs of metal on metal rang through the chamber as Natasha slashed and parried whilst Steve stabbed and blocked. A whip of metal opened a shallow cut by Steve's ribs and he hissed in pain. They were separated and Natasha slashed her blade across her attackers cheek. He howled as blood splashed on the floor before being felled by a blow to the back of his knees, his main arteries having been sliced open.
Steve nicked a guy in the soft spot by the armpit and he too went down, clutching his arm to try and stem the blood flow. However as one fell another took their place. They fought until they were backed up by the plinth, surrounded on all sides. At least five lay dead, everyone else injured, and the death toll kept rising. Unfortunately as it looked like the battle was about to turn in their favour a high pitched wail echoed off the walls.
In the doorway stood a reedy fellow with a wicked sharp blade held at the throat of a panicked Peter. He kicked and struggled but the man pressed the knife closer, beads of blood welled up as he broke the skin. "Drop them." He hissed. His voice was raspy but authoritative. The crazed gleam in his eyes was what made Steve throw his sword to the ground.
"Nat." She stared at her nephew. He looked so ashamed of himself and was trying to hide his fear. Her blade dipped slightly. "Nat." This time Steve sounded a little desperate. She lowered herself down and placed it carefully at her feet.
"He's just a kid." The man bared his teeth in a grin.
"Kids fetch quite a nice price these days, as do pretty women." She lunged forward but was intercepted. Steve was roughly grabbed and hauled away. She was yanked backwards and pulled in the opposite direction.
"STEVE!"
"NAT!" Peter screamed again as he was brutally shoved out of the door and Natasha kicked and punched, trying to fend off the men cuffing her.
"PETE!" Steve took a blow to his head and hit the floor hard on his knees, the hard slabs of concrete sounding dull against the bone.
"STEVE!" She screamed in panic as he was dragged away and she was bundled up and forced out after Peter. "STEVE!" A bag descended over her darting eyes and she was shoved out into the courtyard. She tripped over a loose cobble and fell, giving someone the opportunity to pick her up and hoist her over their shoulders. Her calls were now muffled as she twisted and flailed whilst on the way to market.
Back on the ship Bucky became restless. Something felt wrong. He beckoned over Clint and ordered him to assemble a rescue mission. "Hang on Natalia." He murmured as he adjusted his sword and fixed his belt. "We're coming."
A/N Part two tomorrow because I'm too excited to wait for two days.
