The Eternal Avenger

Chapter Forty-Four: Hide and Seek

(Claray's POV):

Natasha was all business for the entire flight back, and I couldn't really say I blamed her. While she rarely talked about her past, in one of our late-night conversations she had mentioned that Clint saved her while she was living her life on the run, working as an assassin. If nothing else, the man deserved our help for that, and I already owed him a debt for saving the love of my life before I even knew she existed. At the compound, we settled into the conference room, pulling up intel on the monitors, combing through paper case files stacked haphazardly on the table.

"I've got something," Natasha murmured, pulling a file closer to her side of the table and flipping through a few of the gruesome pictures.

"Where?" I asked, trying to get what details I could from the images upside-down.

"Chechnya. There was an Obshina massacre a few days back." She flipped the file towards me, and I got a look at the gruesome photographs right-side up and properly. Even for a vampire like me, they were horrifying – more so given the fact that these acts may have been committed by someone we knew. Or someone we used to know, anyway.

"I can go check it out," I offered. Natasha nodded.

"While you do that, I'm going to hit up some old contacts in Russia and see if they can give us any additional information. If he's going after Mafia or Organized crime, then Russia would be a prime target for him." I glanced over at her out of the corner of my eye. She had been back to Russia during her time on the run, and didn't speak much about it after her return. She only said that she had more 'family' than she thought she did. I didn't want to push, figuring she would talk about it once she was ready.

"I'll keep you posted." I climbed up from my seat at the table, stretching out fully for the first time in hours. Natasha eyed me, unable to keep the smirk off of her face.

"You're not allowed to stretch like that and make those kinds of noises while my best friend is still missing," she grinned, closing the file in front of her, and flipping the computer screens off.

"Yeah? What am I allowed to do, Ms. Romanoff?" I teased, edging closer to her position on the other side of the table. She cocked her head to one side, thinking about her answer.

"Well, if you're about to go back to Eastern Europe to do me a favor, I may be offering you an early reward?" I raised my eyebrows.

"A reward?" I smirked. "What kind of reward would that be?" We looked at each other from across the table hungrily.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, princess," Natasha smirked, holding her hands behind her back and backing away towards the edge of the table slowly.

"Or you'll what?" I growled, switching directions and matching her pacing across from me. She smiled wide.

"You need to cool off, Ridel," She smirked before throwing a cup of ice water directly into my face, leaping over the table and running past me out into the hall. I stood there for a moment sputtering in sheer surprise before the reality of what happened fully hit me.

"You're dead, Romanoff," I called loudly, instantly dashing after her. I caught a glimpse of a red braid rounding the corner at the far end of the hall, and followed after it. Natasha's laugh echoed through the nearly empty corridors, and the sound was as easy to trace as her smell that followed me everywhere. She smelled of grass, freshly cut, outdoor breezes, and somehow – sunshine. I couldn't explain it, but her scent was summery and warm. I slid on the slick tile of the kitchen, surprisingly making it from one side of the room to the other without losing my balance and landing on my ass. As I swerved into the dining room, Natasha stood panting on the other side of the table.