Seven Devils // Natasha Romanoff

Part 7 - Interrogation Gone... Right?

As I slowly drift into consciousness, I realize that I'm tied to a metal chair.  I keep my eyes closed, pretending to still be unconscious like I was taught in training.  Of course, Natasha underwent the same training as me and will probably be looking out for this, but it's worth a shot anyway.

Judging by the temperature, I'm guessing we're inside Natasha's trailer.  I try to feel how well the ropes are tied without moving, but I can't get much of a read on it.  My best guess is that they're pretty good.  Natasha knows what she's doing, so the only way there will be any chance of the ties being bad enough for me to be able to break out of is if Natasha purposely made them that way.

"I know you're awake, Vallonia," Natasha speaks up.

I open my eyes to see that I'm sitting in Natasha's living room, her sitting in a chair in front of me with coffee in hand.  I look down to confirm that my legs are expertly tied to each leg of the chair, and I'm guessing the same was done to my arms behind my back.  "What gave me away?" I ask jokingly, hoping that it doesn't come down to my needing to escape.

She shrugs.  "That was actually my third time saying that; your sleeping got lighter 30 minutes ago, so I've just been saying that every time it looked like you stirred."

I scoff lightly.  "Mind if I ask what prompted this kidnapping?"

"I just wanted to have a civil conversation, and it seems that I wasn't able to have a conversation with you while you were capable of attacking me."

"Yes, so of course the most logical course of action was to total my motorcycle and chloroform me," I reply sarcastically.

She chuckles lightly.  "You know, it's not common to find a Widow with a sense of humor - especially one who was taken at birth."

"Trust me, I know.  Do you know how sad it is that the only person I'd really consider my friend is one of the higher-up scientists who is not even in the Red Room very often?  All of the Widows are so stoic and don't even talk to each other.  Of course, there's the Widow I train with who I'm only 75% sure is a real person; there's a 25% chance she's actually just a robot."

Natasha chuckles as she leans forward.  "Vallonia, as much as I love the stories, I know you're just stalling.  Now, I'm going to ask you a question, and you're going to give me your honest answer."

"And if I don't?"

A smirk crawls across her lips.  "I'm sure we'll get it out somehow."

I scoff lightly.  "Very well.  Ask away."

She takes her coffee in both hands, lowering it onto her lap.  "Is Dreykov still alive?"

"No."

"Uh-huh," she responds, clearly not believing me. "Then how is the Red Room still running?"

Oh shit.  I mentioned the Red Room while I was stalling, thinking that she knew it was still running.  "Taking down Dreykov doesn't take down the Red Room," I shrug.

"Uh-huh.  And who was this 'he' you mentioned yesterday after you shot out my tire?"

I quickly try to think of a lie, but it takes me a couple of seconds.  I could've just said 'the new owner of the Red Room', but Natasha would see through that right away since she knows all of Dreykov's higher-ups were women.  "The man they assigned to your case.  He watches your every move and was waiting for the best moment to attack."

She chuckles mockingly as she stands up, placing her coffee on the counter behind her.  "Vallonia, I must admit, those were pretty good on-the-fly lies.  If I weren't a Widow, I might've believed them.  However, there is one error in your logic."  She places one hand on each arm of the chair as she leans down over me, staring me dead in the eyes.  "Dreykov was too self-centered to create a system for the Red Room that could be run by anyone but him - or should I say is?"