Locked, Loaded, Loved ✔️ COMPLETE | UNDER EDITS

Chapter 9.2--Natasha

"Dang itttttt!" Steve muttered, furiously tapping at his watch.

I looked around trying to locate the voice that distracted us from our mission. As I did so, the mysterious redhead-who-looked-like-me-but-wasn't-me disappeared into the crowd.

"I lost visual on the subject," I said.

"Southeast corner, we see her," Bucky replied.

"Copy that." I started to move in search of anyone who could've been responsible for interrupting us. As I did, I felt something against my back.

"You're coming with me," a voice snarled.

I closed my eyes momentarily. "Now, we're getting somewhere." I turned around, kicking my assailant in the face and knocking the gun out of his hand. Although when I looked closer, I realized it wasn't a gun.

It was the dart shooter that Alexei had used on me before.

I tapped my bracelet, letting the electricity zap the stranger and knock him unconscious. Of course, this had already started a commotion. Guards started to gather around, calling for backup.

"We got her!" Emery called through comms.

I replied with a grunt as I took down one of the guards who was trying to subdue me. "Rendezvous in five!"

I ran through the crowd, trying my best to blend in and slip through without being spotted. I nearly knocked Steve over as I raced toward a back exit.

"We have to go!" I grabbed his hand and we took off at a run.

Once outside, we caught up to Emery and Bucky at the car.

"Where is she?" I asked.

Emery pointed to the trunk. "It's a good thing we brought what we did. I knocked her out—almost too easily if you ask me—and Bucky helped me get her secured. Now the only thing is: how are we going to interrogate her? It's not like we can waltz through the front doors of the hotel with an unconscious hostage."

"Call Amelia," I told her. "There has to be a place we can take her."

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

Twenty minutes later, we pulled up to a storage container lot. I got out of the car, assessing our surroundings.

"Are you sure this is the place?" I asked.

Emery nodded. "Container 24."

Steve helped Bucky get our hostage out of the trunk. She groaned, but didn't open her eyes.

Once we were situated inside the container, we woke her up. The mask on her face disengaged, revealing that of the woman from my memory file. She cursed in Russian.

"Kristina Sokolov. So we finally meet face-to-face." I slowly walked around her chair.

"Natalia," she hissed.

"Why are you using my face? What do you want from me?" I asked her.

She smiled deviously. "Darling, you give yourself too much credit. I'm here to end you."

Anger boiled inside of me. How dare she?

"Keep your cool, Nat. We need her to talk," Bucky whispered.

"What's your play, Kristina? Who sent you? Why choose me to manipulate? You almost had me fooled. But the lingerie store? Really?" I laughed and leaned closer. "You think you know me because of Alexei. You will never know me."

"Do you really know yourself?" Kristina asked.

"Do you? Or is this all because of Alexei? Tell me, who is Kristina Sokolov?"

She smiled. "I wish I could tell you." Sparks crackled on her fingertips. "But I'm afraid I've been stalling."

Kristina lurched forward, thrusting her hands forward and shooting a line of blue light at us. On instinct, Steve engaged his shield and pulled me to the ground behind it. Emery and Bucky jumped out of the way, doing twin somersaults to the side.

Kristina laughed before blasting the door to the container open and running through, leaving us behind in the darkness.

"Is everyone ok?" Steve asked.

I stood up, brushing off my dress. "She got away. Our one lead and we let her get away!" I ran out of the container, not turning back. I tried to chase after Kristina, but she was gone.

"Natasha!" I heard Steve yell after me.

Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. I couldn't believe we'd failed. Again. I'd let my team down. I stopped, leaning against another container with my arms crossed over my chest. I let the tears escape.

"Nat, there you are," Emery said, coming up behind me in the darkness.

"Em, please. Go back. I can't do this with you right now."

"We're going back to the hotel to regroup," she told me, her voice soft.

"I let her get away." My voice cracked as I spoke.

"Natasha, none of this is your fault." She rested her hand lightly on my arm.

I looked up. "If it weren't for me, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Hey." She put her hands on my shoulders. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive. Ditto for the guys. Now we know that it was Kristina who manipulated your face before. And we know what she looks like. Our video feed captured everything."

"I should have never gotten you involved," I said. I didn't want to hurt her—my best friend—but I felt the urge to blame someone besides myself.

"Nat, I would've been involved no matter what. I dated Alexei, remember?"

I scoffed. "Yeah, you pride yourself on dating all my exes, right?"

Emery took a step back, shocked by my words. I don't know what had come over me.

"You don't mean that, Natasha," Emery said. Her eyes scanned my face. "What have you been drinking?"

"Nothing. In fact, I'm seeing things clearly for the first time in a long time. I've been so blind. None of this would've happened if you'd just cooperated. You were supposed to just meet Steve. If you hadn't brought Alexei to the bar that night—"

"What has gotten into you, Natasha?" Emery asked, her voice rising. "Where is the Natasha I know?"

I glared at her. "The Natasha you know? You don't know me, Emery." I pushed her arms off of me and took off at a run. I still had a chance to find Alexei. To end this once and for all.

"Nat!" Emery yelled after me.

I didn't look back. I couldn't look back. I had a sudden, unexplained urge to abandon everything I'd built up. To break ties with all my relationships. To become Natasha Romanoff...Russian assassin...again.

Once I was far enough away, I pulled out my phone. I hit speed dial and put the phone up to my ear.

"Hey, it's me. We have a situation. How soon can you be here?"

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A/N: Hi friends! So...I know there was a lot that happened here pretty quickly and a bit of a cliffhanger ending but I wanted to spice things up a bit! Also, I promise there is a reason Nat is a b**** to Emery towards the end, you'll find out soon :) Any guesses about who she called at the end? Leave them in the comments!

Hope you enjoyed it, please feel free to vote/comment, and I really appreciate all the support I have received so far :D

~Han