Prosperous In Battle

5: Questions

After Christmas we moved to the states, with fake identification I got from someone I worked for it made it a lot easier to get on a flight. Ottilie was adjusted to typical life now. I had her a regular sitter who would stay with her when I'd go on missions for clients and I was always home before she woke in the mornings. She took a dance class on Saturday mornings and she was getting better at talking and interacting with other girls her ages. I was really proud of her.  

I was stood in the widow of her dance class, I always watched her, she loved to dance. One thing the red room did right with her I guess. It was meant to teach us discipline but Ottilie fell in love with the art. She practised all the time at home. Anytime I'd get her to try and do some acidemic work she'd last five minutes before she's leaping around our small dining room. 

"Which one is yours?" A smaller man with glasses on asked me. I saw him watching me. He had been for a while. He kind of commanded a room when he walked in and was hard to miss though I pretended to pay him no mind. He wasn't one of the regular dads here. I haven't seen him before. He wore a suit. I looked at him, scanning him. "The girl," I say flatly. If he was sent from the organisation I was not letting him near Tilly. No way. "Natasha Romanoff, right?" I stepped back from the window. "And you are?" I asked with a raised eyebrow I followed my arms across my chest. 

"Tony Stark, from Stark Tower." He stuck out his hand. "I expected you to be taller." "I excepted you to be scarier." "What do you want?" "You." "And why is that?" "You are spoken about a lot." I kept my face firm. "I want you to come work for me. With me. Permanently." "No thank you," I say turning at the sound of the girls class being let out. "Mummy." Tilly ran over to me, she had grown so much in the past year, she was taller, her hair was longer, she was more adaptable to typical life. She was smarter, quicker. "Hey, baby." I crouched to her height and take her hand. "We're going to go now." She was already eyeing up 'Tony' "It's okay." I assured her. "Is her from the-"No, come on." I take her out to the car. I put her in her seat and lock her in. I knew he was following me. "What do you want? You think it's okay to come around here where my child is!" I say pissed down. Tilly was scared. I knew her signs She'd hold my hand tighter, and she fidget with a thread or a hem of whatever she was wearing. 

"Think about it." He handed me a card. "A kids are good covers." He tells me. "Stay the hell away from her." "She in any form of education-"Stay away from her," I said again stepping to him. "Mummy." Tilly was getting nervous. "It's okay, sweetie. Mummy's talking to a friend." "Anxiety... should get her talking to a shrink." "Don't parent my child." I walked around the car and got in driving us away. 

"Why was that man following us?" "Don't worry about it." "But Mum." "Ottilie it's fine." "Are they going to take me back?" "No, no one is ever going to take you from me." I squeezed her smaller hand. "I'm going to take you to Molly's okay." "Where are you going?" "I have to go to work." "But you said-" Tilly, please sweetie." "Sorry." She looked down at her lap. "I'll take you for ice cream when I pick you up okay?" She nodded. "And we can take Bear for a walk too." Bear was the stray dog I found back in Russia, we had to bring him with us, Tilly had formed a strong bond with her. "Okay." 

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"Her to speak with Tony Stark," I say to the receptionist. "Name?" "Nicole," I say. "Do you have an appointment?" "He asked me to stop by," I say with a forced smile, I put his card on the desk and she looks at it. "Top floor, end of the hall." "Thank you." 

I go straight to the elevator, no point in wasting time. I don't know who he thinks he is trying to intimidate me and my daughter. I was going to find out who he was working for and what he has on us. Because there was no way Dreykov was getting her back. She's my daughter. Mine not his and he wasn't going to take her.