Seven Devils // Natasha Romanoff

Part 3 - Ramen & Death Threats

I decide to head to the convenience store to marinate over my loss (and get medical supplies).  I immediately receive a skeptical look from the cashier when I step in, but she turns a blind eye; I doubt that having criminals show up in this town is a rare occasion since the only people who'd want to be this remote are people who want to stay off the radar.

After paying for some food and medical supplies (I may be a criminal, but I am no thief), I head for the bathroom to patch up whatever damage Natasha left.  After washing my hands and face, I can see that I have bruises forming on my right temple and cheekbone along with a minor cut.  Deciding to play it safe, I disinfect and package the cut; I'm living in the woods, so I'll take whatever protection from infection I can get.

As I finish putting a small bandaid over the cut, a text appears on my phone.

Status update.

Shit.  I have to tell Dreykov how it went.  Deciding to get this over with as quickly as possible, I call him and explain everything that happened to him (of course lying about the ending).

"So she got away?" he clarifies.

"I almost had her," I lie.  "She realized she wasn't going to defeat me, so she made a run for her car.  When I ran after her, she slammed the car door open in my face.  While I was slightly stunned, she was able to drive away.  I shot at her car the whole time, but none of the shots caused significant enough damage to stop the car."

Dreykov sighs from the other end.  "Vallonia, do you need me to send explosives?  You could easily detonate a bomb in the trailer at night, and that'd take her out for good."

"No," I state firmly.  "I am going to kill her in cold blood and watch the life as it drains from her eyes.  She is going to suffer, and I am going to witness every second of it."

I can practically picture the proud look on his face.  "That's my girl.  Don't let her get away next time.  There won't be a next time after that."

"I won't fail you," I promise.

With that, I hang up and put the phone in my pocket.  Carefully placing a hand on each side of the sink, I look at myself in the mirror.  I'm going to get her next time.  No more mistakes.

......

I decide to attack again that night. That's when Natasha will least expect it, and I need as much of a surprise factor as I can get. As I look in her window from my position of hiding behind her car, I watch her casually eating ramen. Her hair is wet from taking a shower, and she has a comfy sweater on. She appears entirely at ease, not at all prepared for an attack. This is my chance.

Keeping an eye on her the entire time, I silently slip to her bedroom window and open it, the window conveniently not making a sound. I take one final glance at her unsuspecting figure in the kitchen window before slipping through the bedroom window.

I land softly on the ground, my landing almost entirely silent. I slip a knife from my pocket as I stalk over to the hallway (although it is so short that it is basically an alcove) leading from the bedroom to the kitchen. Natasha has her back turned to me, her attention entirely focused on her ramen. I could easily throw the knife from here and kill her within seconds, but something deep inside me tells me to sneak up on her.

I don't understand why, but I go with the intuition, silently making my way towards Natasha. I cautiously creep towards her, making sure I give her no hint of my presence. Once I'm within a foot of her, I swiftly grab her by the back of her hair and bring my knife in front of her throat. I feel her tense up in my hold, but I don't acknowledge it as I instead focus on my next move, beginning to lean down towards her.