26 THE WINTER SOLDIER.

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"NOT HER, I GOT  H E R

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"NOT HER, I GOT H E R .

YOU'RE TOO K I N D !"






             HER BODY Shook as the adrenaline and shock from the injury wore off. She was sat in an ambulance being patched up but she couldn't stop herself from shaking. She looks from her bloody hands, so much blood. She hears voices but can't register who they are, they whisper.



           The blood, so much, too much. Not only her blood, who else's? She tries to remember but sees the prince staring at her, his father. The king, she tried to save the king, right? Her brain hurt as she tried to make sense of her racing thoughts.



            Meanwhile Natasha steps away from the girl, offering her condolences to the prince, "In my culture death is not the end. It's more of a stepping-off point. You reach out with both hands and Bast and Sekhmet, they lead you into the green veldt where—you can run forever." He can't help the emotions he's feeling as he toys with his fathers ring.


            "That sounds very peaceful." Natasha tries to empathize, or sympathize? She isn't sure, "My father thought so." He can't bring himself to offer a smile, instead sliding the ring on his own finger, "I am not my father."


            "T'Challa. Task force will decide who brings in Barnes." She doesn't want him to make a mistake, something that could ruin what they were working to build. "Don't bother, Miss Romanoff. I'll kill him myself." And as he clenches his fist he abruptly stands to walk away.


             Natasha returns to Hadley's side, stroking the shaking girls hair as her phone rings, "It's Steve." She mutters it and sees Hadley offer a small smile. "Yeah?"


            "You alright?" He asks worried, unaware that Hadley was with her. "Ah, yeah, thanks. I got lucky. But Hadley—" she cuts herself off in fear that mentioning the girl would send Steve into even more of a spiral.


            "Nat. What about Hadley? Is she there?" He asks it in an almost panicked state but tries to remain calm. And as much as the woman wants to she knows she can't lie to him, "She's banged up a bit, but she'll be okay. Listen, Steve, I know how much Barnes means to you. I really do. Stay home. You'll only make this worse. For all of us. Please."


Hadley rests on the woman's lap now, Natasha laying a hand in her hair playing with it to calm the girl. And though Hadley appears to be asleep she's listening very intently to what her friends are discussing, "Are you saying you'll arrest me?"


In the blink of an eye Hadley is sitting up, throwing a glance Natashas way in question if she actually would. This causes the woman to sigh, "No. Someone will. If you interfere. That's how it works now."


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