redintheledger: (only some can fly)
Natasha Romanoff ([personal profile] redintheledger) wrote2013-08-05 10:50 am

OOM: Vladivostock

The downside to trackers, and waiting for the people who unknowingly have them to actually move, is that it leaves time to think. And middle of a mission? Isn't exactly the time for her to shift through her emotions and motivations, even if she and Coulson are on a plane headed east.

Markov is – was – right. She murdered a group of people in Bulgaria, mostly using her Widow Bites, and SHIELD tends to make sure those who pull stunts like that don't do them again. And the argument can be made that she set up Sofia to come back and haunt her. A redhaired woman dressed in dark clothing, with glowing wrists, dispensing a form of justice to those who'd steal and sell young girls; a poetic image for one of those girls to latch onto.

The argument doesn’t last in her head any longer than it takes to form it. She can't bring herself to regret her actions, and she can't see the point. The girls had been freed, and if one of them had chosen to use that freedom to turn to being an obsessive hitwoman, then so be it. It was her call.

Natasha shakes her head sharply. Later. She'll poke at all of that later. The tracker is moving, and it's time to get back to work.

Or, at least, time to board a plane and ask Coulson if he brought any cards with him. It might not take over a week to get to the other side of Russia anymore, but it's still a damn long trip.
hisonegoodeye: (Agent not a scientist)

[personal profile] hisonegoodeye 2013-08-29 03:13 pm (UTC)(link)
He pulled his own handgun even as she walked away from him; not that he thought for a second that she'd need the back-up, but he's not the kind of guy who believes in wasting time.

When Nat glances back he's already walking forwards, with that fast silent stalk characteristic of government and law enforcement, stepping without pause over the guard's slumped form and into the room beyond.

It's small and brushed-steel glinting with technology; he and the gun look left, right and up and see no-one.

"Clear," he says, steady and almost inaudible.
hisonegoodeye: (Under stormy skies)

[personal profile] hisonegoodeye 2013-08-30 12:23 am (UTC)(link)
They've played this game often enough, and now's no time to be playing the game of who's got the best idea.

So the smoke discs explode on cue and he fires in a steady arc into it, in the direction he expects Sofia to move in.

You never know, one of these days he might get lucky and hit her; even if not, it'll force her to move.
hisonegoodeye: (Cool guy not FBI)

[personal profile] hisonegoodeye 2013-08-30 11:03 pm (UTC)(link)
His first instinct is to stay with her, but he trusts her - and anyway, someone needs to have her back.

And if that someone is him, then he's always going to be okay with that.

The first man gets a bullet before he even gets close enough to see what's happening - to the head, because Coulson has never enjoyed playing nice. And now as the smoke begins to thin out there are more of them: none of them too bright, admittedly, because they are making the classic hired-gun error of attacking a few at a time rather than all at once.

Well, good. At least this will give Nat some time.

(That barb about his agents stung. He hopes she makes this hurt.)
Edited 2013-08-30 23:09 (UTC)
hisonegoodeye: (Sternyman)

[personal profile] hisonegoodeye 2013-08-31 12:34 am (UTC)(link)
Coulson's free hand yanks the guy's head back by his hair; there is a nasty crack.

"No, thank you."

He sounds mild, and not particularly out of breath.

"Are we done here?"
hisonegoodeye: (Under stormy skies)

[personal profile] hisonegoodeye 2013-08-31 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
He lets the man drop to the floor to step towards Nat, glancing at his watch, then at the mess around her.

"Last call, Kos said another twenty minutes."

He looks down at Sofia's body once, and does not look at her again.

"So we should have just enough time to C4 the rudder, if you still wanted."
Edited 2013-08-31 01:39 (UTC)
hisonegoodeye: (Just a hint of a smile)

[personal profile] hisonegoodeye 2013-09-01 09:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah," he says, thinly. "I know the feeling."

And guess who just happened to bring along a load of extra C4?
hisonegoodeye: (Under stormy skies)

[personal profile] hisonegoodeye 2013-09-09 08:01 pm (UTC)(link)
"You say the nicest things," he tells her, in a gentle echo of their last exchange.

And yes, as it happens, he does want to make something explode...

"Oh, and Natasha?"

BOOM.



"It was never just her and you."
hisonegoodeye: (Cool guy not FBI)

[personal profile] hisonegoodeye 2013-09-11 07:28 pm (UTC)(link)
"Good," he says, the aftermath of the explosion glinting on his shades.

"And now, as your superior officer, I am taking a command decision to get out of here and find protective colouration in a bar."

He already knows his to-do list for the next month: there'll be time for mourning later, and for paperwork. Right now, though?

He wants a beer.