No Tears | NR

Chapter 7

Sæbø, Norway

Yara didn't plan on fixing any issues the AI project had, any time soon. She wasn't going to help the company's corrupt CEO and consequently become his accomplice. But she also didn't want to involve her coworkers who all had families to take care of. Plus, there was a chance that one or more of them knew about their CEO's plans or were maybe even part of it. Therefore, she resolved to continue working with them as she had done before and subtly added new hidden issues that would push the date of the project's completion backward.

Her coworkers were as concentrated as ever to find the bug once they returned from their break. But by the end of the day, the original issue remained a mystery.

Yara tried not to look suspicious when she left, but she didn't waste any time returning back to her apartment where another surprise was awaiting her. This one came in form of a cold, metal barrel that was pressed against her temple as soon as she unlocked her hotel room's door and stepped inside. She couldn't see who was on the other end of the gun, because the person was standing behind her, but she didn't need to. She recognized the voice instantly once the person in question spoke up.

"Miss me?"

"Natasha!?"

She was a little confused. She had completely forgotten about the redheaded Avenger, believing that the woman had left the country by now.

"Hi, Yara."

"What are you doing here? I thought you left."

The former assassin ignored the questions asking a different one instead, "Who are you?"

Yara replied hesitantly, trying to figure out a way to get out of this tricky situation that worked in her favor. "Look, I don't know you, but you don't want everyone knowing everything about you either, do you?"

After the other woman didn't say anything for a while, Yara spoke up again. "All I will say is that I didn't come here for you. I didn't even know you were here until I met you yesterday. I am a computer scientist and my boss sent me here to help our Norwegian partners with a project."

 The former assassin stayed silent and Yara could feel that the woman didn't believe her. She could see, why, but she didn't have the time or the right mindset for an argument right now.

"Look, you can believe me or you can't. Nothing I say will change that. But I don't have all the time in the world to stand around and wait for you to decide what to do with me. So, if you don't mind, I'll go to the desk and do something useful now. You can stay or leave. That's up to you."

With that, she made an attempt to step away from the Avenger. When nothing happened, she continued walking over to a chair which she sat down on, and pulled out her laptop. She opened it and started working on figuring out who Gunderson had called.

"Oh, and just for your information, my name really is Yara. Yara Krieger." At least it has been for a while now, she thought quietly.

Yara didn't look up to see the other woman's reaction, but she could feel her eyes on her.

She could feel an awkward tension growing between them. It didn't help that the other woman was still standing there and watching her. She turned her head and gazed up at her for a short moment.

"Can you please at least sit-down? I can't concentrate like this."

She couldn't hear the other woman, as the latter quietly stepped over to the bed and sat down on the edge. Yara only noticed that the redhead had moved when she gazed back for a moment.

After a while, Natasha got up again and walked up to Yara from behind. Yara tried her hardest to focus, but it was becoming increasingly difficult with the redhead right behind her. She was about to complain about that, but the Avenger was faster and cut her off.

"What are you doing?"

Yara didn't look up when she answered. "I am trying to find someone."

"Who and why?"

Yara was a little annoyed by the questions while she was trying to concentrate, but she figured that the Avenger might have some useful information or connections.

"I overheard the CEO of the company that I work at here, talk to a man about some shady business. I am trying to find the man he was calling. He has a Russian accent. Gunderson called him 'General'. You know something about him?"

"Wait. You said 'General'?"

The redheaded Avenger sounded genuinely shocked which Yara didn't think was possible. The former assassin was impossible to read. She rarely showed her emotions except for amusement which she occasionally expressed with a smirk.

"Yeah", Yara confirmed while turning around in her chair and looking up at Natasha. "Why? You know who he is?"

Natasha had composed herself again and answered with a calm, cool voice.

"No."

Yara eyed the other woman suspiciously but decided against asking more questions. Instead, she turned back around to her laptop and restarted typing.

Other than the sound of Yara hectically typing on her laptop's keyboard, the room was completely silent for the next two hours. It was only interrupted when Natasha got up and walked over to the window.

"We have to leave. Now."

Yara stared at her, not having understood anything the redhead had just said. She had been too caught up in her work.

"What?"

"Get up and grab your most important stuff. We're leaving!", she said with urgency in her voice.

Yara obliged trusting that the former assassin knew what she was doing and had a good reason for the urgency. She grabbed a backpack and threw all electronic devices she had in there plus her wallet and anything else that she could think of on the spot that she might need later on.

Once she was done, she grabbed the car keys for the little black Mercedes and followed Natasha out the door. The former assassin was wearing a grey beanie, trying to hide her notable red hair which she was known for. Neither of them had said anything for the last minute or so and Yara still didn't know why they were fleeing the room, but she knew that this was the wrong time to ask. They ran through the hotel's reception hall trying not to look suspicious. They were about to step out the front door when Natasha suddenly stopped and pulled Yara aside. They stood facing each other pretending to have small talk and trying to blend in with their surroundings. Luckily, an elderly pair was standing next to them apparently waiting for someone or something.

Yara was standing with her back to the entrance and couldn't see what was going on, but she heard a single pair of feet walk in. Natasha suddenly turned around to ask the elderly pair something right as the person passed them. Just as the elderly man made an attempt to answer the redhead's question, the latter turned back around and walked towards the exit, grabbing Yara's arm on her way out. She pulled the computer scientist with her as she led the way to the black Mercedes.

AN:

This is a short one and I will be honest; this chapter doesn't quite feel right. I think that I just don't like the storyline in this chapter very much. I hope that the next one will be better. Also, I am trying to stay consistent with Yara's and Natasha's characters, but it's hard because their characters in each chapter are influenced a little by my current mood... Anyways, I hope you like it so far.