Forgotten Ghost | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 24: Double Trouble

2014

It had been two years since the battle of New York. Any normal thing would be forgotten by now, but the city still wasn't what it used to be. Shops were still closed, a lot of people had closed their business or moved away. Some streets still had holes in them, buildings too. 

Katya was not surprised to see Steve at SHIELD headquarters after she returned from her stay at Clint's two years ago. She knew he couldn't ignore the fact that he was able to help the world and walk away from it. His heart was too big for that.

So Rogers had been appointed a small apartment in the outskirts of the city. A quiet neighborhood with small houses just like he was used to. What he didn't know is he was placed under the protection of one very special SHIELD Agent. Family of founding member Peggy Carter herself. Sharon was nice, but she was not someone Katya was friends with. 

They didn't hate each other, but they didn't exactly work either. It was purely business they discussed with each other, nothing more, nothing less. 

But his neighbor 'Kate' being SHIELD Agent Sharon was not the only thing the Captain didn't know. Fury had ordered Katya to bug his apartment, something she had done with a little reluctance. While she understood the Director just wanted Rogers to be safe, it had felt like a breach of privacy. 

Steve quickly found himself giving the orders on missions he went on. They were usually with the S.T.R.I.K.E. team, a team of strong men meant for breaching buildings and taking down entire armies within minutes. Head of that team was Brock Rumlow, a man Katya mistrusted completely. There was something about him that gave her the creeps. 

Maybe it was his eyes or the way he looked at her. Like she was prey and he was the hunter. Natasha hated him too, mostly because of the way he looked at Katya and yelled orders at her, even though she was above him when it came to authority. 

But starting a fight with one of the guys Katya often had to work with was not an option, so she mostly ignored him and threw dirty looks. 

Steve, Natasha and Katya worked together sometimes, when a mission needed both strength and stealth, but not often. The two women were spies, they went on undercover missions to retrieve information. That was their main job. Although Fury deployed them on missions that involved fighting too.

Like the doctors had predicted, Katya's shoulder had never gone back to the way it used to be. The muscles in her shoulder had been damaged too heavily. She could fight and shoot and throw knives without too much pain, thanks to some drugs, but the strength in her left arm wasn't nearly as good as in her right. Pulling her body up when hanging onto something was a real pain, only having one hand to do that. 

Luckily though, Natasha and Katya had come up with some smart moves to relieve the pressure put on her weak arm. If any enemy were to know of her injury, they could use it against her. So hours of training and strengthening it as much as possible allowed her to fight around it. Using the strong parts of her body in a smart way to get the same effect and still fight strong.

Her right arm had a nice round scar on the upper arm. It was a nice three inch, almost circle-like scar that was a slightly different color than her own skin tone. Not that she cared. Her body held enough scars already, so what was one more.

Both women were fast asleep when the beeper in the room went off. It was an alarm that let them know a sudden mission popped up and they were needed in Fury's office immediately. Natasha groaned, reaching forward and slamming on the button that ended the annoying noise. The clock on the wall told her it was a little past five. Whatever was going on must be serious or Fury would have waited at least an hour to call them in.