Forgotten Ghost | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 4: Knives

Katya's sleep sucked, like always. Every night, the same nightmares would come back. Each time with different images, but the same oppressive feeling. Like she was suffocating. She had gotten used to them by now, learning to keep quiet and not move around too much. But she still sweat a lot and her heart raced in her chest.

So there was nothing else to do than take another quick shower in the morning, the water calming her down. The sun had started to rise when a soft knock on her door broke her out of her head. It was meant more as a warning than a question, because she couldn't open the door herself, but Katya answered with a simple yes.

The thick lock sprung free and red hair came into view first, followed by Natasha's whole body. A smile wanted to form on her face, but something stopped when she recognized the change in the redhead's demeanor. Katya knew all too well what this meant. It was her armor, protection, a big step backwards from the familiar feeling from yesterday. 

Her arms were crossed over her chest and eyes didn't even look at her. ''Follow me.'' Her voice was demanding and curt, no room for discussion or joking. Katya knew that her mood wasn't going to get better if she pushed her. Natasha struggled with herself, protecting herself, and if someone wanted to break through her walls, they would have to be careful.

She said nothing about the fact that Katya's hair was wet, a clear sign she had showered twice within ten hours, but Natasha did hold in her strides, knowing the brunette's leg hurt and she couldn't walk as fast.

The same interrogation room waited for her, but this time, there were no handcuffs. The feeling of being watched told Katya that someone stood behind the mirror again, watching her every move. She wouldn't be surprised if it was the Director again. She was quite a dangerous person if she had the wrong intentions by coming here. 

Natasha left for a second, without any explanation, before coming back with the best present ever; a steaming hot cup of coffee. It warmed up Katya's whole body when her hands wrapped around the paper cup. ''Thanks.'' Katya gave her a little smile, but Natasha didn't react, just folded her hands together and stared intently with those deep green eyes.

Katya ripped her eyes away from hers after a short silence, not wanting to get distracted, and stared at the brown liquid in her hands. ''What do you want to know?''

''Secretary of Defense wasn't the only HYDRA in high places, was he?'' It was less of a question and more of an observation. 

Katya shook her head before looking up. ''No.''

Natasha leaned forward in her seat a little bit, trying to intimidate the woman in front of her, ignoring how her blue eyes affected her. ''How many do you know off?'' Part of her hated how coldly she treated Katya, but this was necessary for an objective evaluation. 

Katya shrugged. ''Not much. I know where they are, just not how many and what their names are.'' 

Natasha narrowed her eyes, trying to see if she was lying. Katya was a good liar, but they had learned the same techniques to hide the truth so she would be able to see through her. Nothing told her she was lying now. No change in voice, no looking away or staring to intently, no muscles twitching or heartbeat speeding up. 

''I was just an Agent,'' Katya continued. ''I had no power whatsoever. Everything I know, I know because I overheard things, doing the only job I was trained to do; spying on people.''

Natasha's face didn't change throughout her whole explanation. ''Tell me the things you do know.''

Katya sighed quietly. She knew many things, little things. No big, important pieces of information. But she was ready to give everything she knew, ready to take down the organization that had treated her like an animal. ''Do you mind if I write it down? It's just a lot faster than explaining everything.'' But it would also be much easier to lie, Natasha knew that. This was a test to see if she trusted her enough.