Forgotten Ghost | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 40: Face To Face

They stole a new car. Or 'borrowed' as Steve liked to say to make himself feel better. 

They had quickly come up with a plan to infiltrate HQ and stop the launch of those Helicarriers. It wasn't the best plan, but there were no other options than to literally walk into the building. Not through the front door, but you get the concept. It wasn't even a question if  they were going to get caught, it was more a when. Hopefully after they were able to rain on HYDRA's parade. 

Sitwell was crammed in between Natasha and Katya in the backseat and tried to make himself as small as possible. That wasn't easy in the little car. Katya's shoulder got pushed against the door and she had to bite her lip every time they took a right turn and the G-forces crushed her even more. 

Everyone was uneasy and that resulted in more bickering and heated arguing. Nothing that benefitted the already tense atmosphere in the car. 

Sam, who had been appointed as the driver, tried to keep as silent as possible because he only knew them for a couple hours, but Katya could see on his face that he had some opinions of his own. And after the hundredth time of Sitwell whining about everything, he had had enough.

''HYDRA doesn't like leaks,'' Sitwell announced in the middle of a rare moment of silence.

Katya groaned and was about to shut him up when Sam did it for her. Sitwell gave her a massive headache and she hated that his body was forced against her in the tiny car. It made her cringe and she couldn't wait to get out of this. 

''So why don't you try sticking a cork in it.''

A faint smile is the best Katya could give Sam, who looked smug at his little joke. She swore they had the same humor and hoped he would stick around after this. Whatever would come after this. If they were even alive.

Katya could see from the corner of her eye that Natasha checked her watch. Sitwell had given them everything after they had threatened to continue throwing him off the rooftop until he started talking. He gave them all the details concerning the launch. Time, place, how it all worked exactly. 

The task itself wasn't that hard. Sneak into the building, which they could use Sitwell for, let Natasha work her magic on the computers to stop the launch permanently and hopefully take out some HYDRA in the meantime. Time was their biggest enemy though. What a surprise. 

''Insight's launching in sixteen hours, we're cutting it a little bit close here.'' Natasha leaned forward, over Steve's shoulder who was sitting in the passenger's seat, so she could talk to him better. 

Steve nodded and answered her a little stressed. ''I know. We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the Helicarriers directly.''

But Katya was only half focused on his words. A familiar feeling started swirling in her stomach. A nervous, uneasy feeling that told her something was wrong or was going to go wrong soon. And it wasn't this mission in general, this was anxiety on top of her already existing anxiety. ''Guys, something is wrong,'' she said worryingly, but halfway through her sentence, Sitwell yelled over her words.

''What? Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea,'' he answered Steve. Those would be the last words he would ever speak, because a loud thud on the roof confirmed Katya's suspicions: they were in danger again. 

She had just enough time to duck before a big fist smashed through the window next to her head and grabbed the HYDRA Agent by his jacket, pulling him out of his seat and through the broken window in one, alarmingly easy motion. And Katya knew why. There was no missing the metal the arm was covered in. Or in this case, the arm was made of.