"WE MUST ALL BE INSANE TO RACE RECKLESSLY ABOUT IN A WORLD FILLED WITH WITH SO MANY SHARP AND POINTED DANGERS. THAT'S JUST ASKING FOR TROUBLE."
in which valentina popov discovers her true identity and tries to reconcile with her nightmares.
first bo...
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ACT I, part i, chapter six : an offering
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9:23 AM. APRIL 12th, 2014.
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BLOOD stains speckled the surfaces of the bathroom that Valentina was tending her wounds in. A lot of it was in the bathtub as that was where she decided to clean and bandage up the cut from the tracker she removed in the forest. She was at the sink, now, washing dirt, grime, and blood off her face, arms, and hands. Shaking water off of her hands, she stared at herself in the mirror. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a messy ponytail. She was just in a grey sports bra and boxer briefs. Never in her 47 years of life, would she imagine a time where she wouldn't be under the grasp of the Red Room. Under Madame B's scrutiny. Under Dreykov's power. His fear. The very thought of those two made her heart race and her body shudder.
After Natasha Romanoff, then Natalia Romanova, left, escaped really, from the Red Room, Valentina was treated as Dreykov's special pet. He never forgot to let her know that from the way he spoke to her. Looked at her. Touched her.
She remembered the first time they met. She was still being kept in solitary confinement. Always tested on. Always poked and prodded at. Usually by Melina. She was kind though, even when shoving a large needle into the girl's arm. Dreykov wasn't kind. He didn't need a single weapon to evoke fear in her as a little girl.
Melina dressed her up like a doll the day she was scheduled to meet Dreykov so that he could examine his little experiment. Valentina was put in the nicest makeup, clothes, everything. She remembered Melina's face while doing so, and even more so when she left the cell; unhappy, conflicted, disgusted even. Now older, and away from the academy, Val knew that it wasn't Melina's choice but she still felt a small bit of resentment towards her.
Dreykov never stopped visiting Val, even when she left the cell and became an official Widow. Each time felt more invasive but she could never let him feel his discomfort but maybe she didn't need to make a face or a sudden movement to let him know that discomfort. He probably thrived off of it in his little chair in that gaudy office of his. He thrived knowing that none of his Widows, even the strongest like Val or Yelena, could defy him. Ever.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Valentina snapped out of her trauma-filled haze and quickly put her hand on the doorknob, just in case whoever was there (probably the man whose house she broke into) tried to get in.
"Hey. If you go into the room to your right, there should be some spare clothes that should fit you.", He said, his voice calm.
The woman stayed silent.
"Hello?"
"Why are you being so nice?", She asked. He could very well be a Red Room agent that was planning for her to come, just so he could kill her. But why would he wait so long to do so?
She could hear him sigh, "Just come downstairs when you're ready."
Before she left the bathroom, she tried to scrub off some of the bloodstains but some of them had been there too long to do so. He could clean it later. Grabbing her belongings and stuffing them in a bag, she walked out of the bathroom, and just like he said, there was a spare bedroom to her right. Walking inside, she shut and locked the door behind her and went straight to the window to close the blinds, and pull the curtains closed.
To her left, there was a small closet. She opened it and sure enough, there were some spare clothes. Women's clothes. Odd. But it didn't really matter as she grabbed a plain, black tee and some black skinny jeans.
Once she got dressed, she took her bag and walked out of the room and downstairs to where the man was sweeping up broken glass into a dustpan. He didn't seem to notice her at all and the door to leave the house was right there. She could just leave if she was quiet enough.
"Ah, ah, ah!", The man said as soon as her fingertips touched the door handle. "You're not leaving just yet."
Damnit. She scolded herself.
"Catch."
He tossed a phone to her which she caught with ease. She gulped, seeing what was on the screen. It was a news headline: Fire Ravages Maryina Horka Forest Where Alleged "Red Room" Operated
"Know anything about that?"
Her jaw clenched as she continued to stare at the screen. As she skimmed through the article with her thumb, she saw that it was still being contained. At the bottom of it, there read: 'Natasha Romanoff has yet to provide any comment on the ongoing story.' Why would she? The Red Room "ceased" operation years ago. Any headquarters are assumed to be empty buildings and anyone who would dare investigate it further would disappear.
Looking up from the phone, she tossed it back to the man, "What do you want from me?", She spat. The longer she was there, the longer it would take her to get out of Russia and to somewhere safe. Or at least somewhat safe.
"Just some cooperation, is all.", He said, setting his broom on the wall and putting his hands in his pockets, "So let's try this, again. Who are you?"
"Val.", She stated plainly.
"Alright...Val. My name is Rick. What the hell are you doing here?"
"It seems like you already know."
He chuckled, "I'd like you to tell me."
"I'm trying to get to America.", She said. She wasn't really lying because she knew that wouldn't work on him so she just gave him the least amount of information possible.
"Mhm.", Rick started to walk closer to her. "So you're Val, and you want to go to America. Is that all?"
Valentina just nodded her head. She guessed it was reasonable to know the motives of a woman who just broke into your house but this was quickly getting into the area of interrogation, and that, she did not like. As he neared, she gripped her bag tightly. Her weapons were in there but if she needed to, the weight of it would easily knock him out or stun him at the least. From there, she could start running.
"I would really like to believe all that. I really would, but I don't think you have the means to get to the States.", He paused, raising his eyebrows. "No offense."
He was right.
She didn't even know where the nearest airport was and she definitely did not have the funds to get a ticket. No ID. No passport. Nothing. All she was doing at this point was running. It was fine now but it wasn't going to do her much good in the long run.
"Look, Val. I would rather not hurt you. I'm sure you know that I'm not part of the Red Room or whatever because I probably would have killed you already. I don't need that. I have a business to take care of."
"Good. Then I'll leave and we can forget this happened.", She said, turning around to the door.
"Wait!", He exclaimed, causing her to stop and turn around. "For God's sake, wait. I'm guessing you don't have money or anything to help you get to where you want to go, let alone on a plane. Therefore, I have an offer."
She raised an eyebrow, questioningly.
"In exchange for money, IDs, passports, and anything else you might need, I'll hire you. You'll only work until it adds up to what you need. After that, you can be on your way and we'll never see or talk to each other again."
Valentina paused. She knew he wasn't trying to hurt her. Even if she left right now without another word, he probably wouldn't. Probably. She needed the money and other forms of identification. That was true.
She hated to admit it but...Valentina Popov was desperate.
