Old Scars Resurface - Natasha Romanoff

Norway

"They're topside, sit." One of Ross' many agents informed him.

The division Ross had crafted were finally at the location everyone had lost their minds over, but they were struggling to find the best plan of action. They had swarmed the outside of the building and updated each other on anything they saw, but none of them had actually penetrated the barricaded doors of the station. Erin had positioned herself to a sit behind a wall after she managed to hack into the system every agent's communications ran through. She pressed her back against the wall and made sure to stay sitting so no one would know that she snuck onto a mission that she wasn't allowed to be on.

With the sun hanging on by a thread in the background the two separate but similar teams prepared to find the woman everyone had been looking for. While Ross had a large group of agents who were armed to the teeth in high tech and tactical uniforms, all erin had was herself. However, she did have something that Ross could never get: a pure motivation. He wanted to catch her out of spite, out of anger, and because of the fact that most of the world wanted him to. But erin never wanted anything like that. She never had any malicious intent behind her hunt for the black widow, but she didn't want to admit the real reason as to why she was doing it.

"Tier 1 has LOS." Ross was told, "we've got all exits covered."

"Alright, stay alert. I'm sending in the alpha squad." He ordered.

While watching the security footage on her tiny laptop she cradled, Erin tried her best to not commentate on ross' actions. If she was to let out a laugh, or a comment, or even breath too heavily, the agents would pick up on it and be able to trace it back to her, which was the last thing she wanted. So she sat behind a wall with the coms in and a small computer on her lap while she took part in the very mission she was recently banned from.

Ross began reminding his team in case they forgot, despite the many times they were told, "Natasha Romanoff is in violation of the Sokovia accords. She assaulted the king of Wakanda. Make an example out of her."

Hearing that speech, Erin rolled her eyes to herself before she heard the sound of a telephone ringing. Sitting up in anticipation, she made sure that she'd be connected to any direct lines used by ross and his team so she'd be able to listen to whoever was calling him.

"Yeah?" Ross asked.

"Dont do this." The voice told him.

Erin's heart dropped when she heard the voice, but she made sure to keep listening to confirm who it was.

"Do what?"

"Come after me. I mean, you're embarrassing yourself, it looks desperate."

It was her, and she didn't need another word to be able to confirm that it was her. Despite the international hunt for her name, erin was glad she could hear her voice. Or at least hear her speak through something other than a video that was just played back for a mission study. Sure, it wasn't hearing her in person. And Natasha may not have been speaking to her, but Erin felt it. The warmth deep inside of her lit her up with a small smile, even if she didn't exactly know why.

Ross continued, "thought maybe you'd be calling me to cut a deal. 'Cause from my vantage point, its the federal fugitive who's desperate."

"From my vantage point, you look like you could use some bed rest. What is this, your second triple bypass?" Natasha asked with a cocky tone.

Erin listened eagerly while ross tried to brag, "I wouldn't worry about me. We got Barton, we got wilson and that other guy, the incredible shrinking convict. Rogers is on the run. You got no friends, where you gonna go?"

"Ive lived a lot of lives before i met you, ross. You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble. I'm done." And with that, she cut the phone line.

The moment she heard the beep, Erin jolted forward, desperate to find the signal again. Even though it lasted a second and didn't necessarily involve Erin, that moment with natasha was ripped from her, and she rushed to get it back.

"Romanoff?" Ross angrily asked, the frustration clear in his deep exhale.

The chatter in the coms ended there. Erin heard nothing from his team for a few minutes, even though she had proof that they were still at the spot. After spending a few moments trying to see if doing anything on the computer would work, she finally heard something again.

"We got an empty nest, secretary ross." An agent informed him, "her tracker, sir."

When she heard the angry grunt coming from the coms, she took the ear piece out and placed her computer on the ground beside her. In the silence that followed, she lowered her head and held her hands to it while she allowed herself a breath of hope.

Then, all of the sudden, a noise struck her ears and gave her that hope. The casual and quiet sound of a bathroom door closing along with the gentle rush of the water caused her to pull her hoodie up and rest on her knees to look over the wall she leant against. While keeping her head at a discreet level, she saw the woman who exited the bathroom, and she instantly knew who it was.

As natasha Romanoff stood at the other end of the boat, watching the water, she thought she was finally alone. She sighed in relief, thinking she'd finally have a chance to breathe in the moments of chaos now that she'd escaped the governments search for her. But, of course, that wasn't the case. Yes, she had escaped the governments search for her, but it wasn't only them who needed to find her.

While natasha looked out into the waters, Erin stood on the top part of the boat at the back of it with a black hoodie hiding her. She watched natasha at the end of the boat, before turning away and finding another spot on the build to hide out in and wait. She would wait until natasha got off of the boat so she could follow her and finally talk to her after all of those years.