Insane in my Russian Brain - P. Parker

Chapter Eleven

"I'm gonna go use a phone in the back." Kat pointed behind her, where a phone hung in the middle of a rack of items.

"Who are you gonna be calling?" Natasha asked, trying to say it as smoothly as possible. She didn't want herself to come off as paranoid, being she wouldn't hear the end of it from Yelena.

"It's not important, but if you must know, I'm calling my dad."

"But aren't you from The Red Room? How do you have parents?" Now Yelena was curious.

Kat shook her head. "It isn't that simple. And anyway, I've been out for seven years, I've had plenty of time to grow a family." That wasn't entirely true, she was just staying with Steve so she had a roof over her head while they were on the run.

"Suit yourself." Yelena shrugged her shoulders, turning back to Natasha. "Why do you do that posing thing?"

Kat smiled to herself, walking to the back of the store. She dialed Steve's cell number, holding the phone tight against her ear.

"Hello?" Steve sounded tired and like he had just woken up. Kat had completely forgotten about the time difference.

"I am truly sorry about all of this-"

"Kat! What are you doing? Where are you? Why did you just leave? Was it that mail? Oh god, I should have checked it ahead of time."

"No, no, Rogers I'm fine. I think my cell is getting tracked right now, so I couldn't call you. I'm so sorry, I couldn't say anything else because I knew it would end terribly."

Steve ran a hand through his matted hair, leaning his head back. "I've been worried sick, Kat. I thought Tony had gotten to you and was gonna lock you up."

Kat looked over at Natasha, meeting her green eyes. She knew that she would have been snooping in on their conversation. "The Red Room is still active. I'm with Nat and her sister, we're going to take it down."

"What? Are you insane? No, terrible idea, I can't have them getting their hands on you. Kat, you have to get out of there, it's not safe. Get back to the house, I promise I'm doing the best I can to provide for us and that thing will get better."

Kat bit her lip. She knew she didn't have a choice. Too many innocent people would get hurt if she didn't help. "You remember when you were telling me about your past? You quoted yourself. You said you didn't like bullies, no matter where they came from. I'm only taking your advice."

"I swear to god Kat-"

"I'm sorry, Dad. I'm not asking for permission." Kat slammed the phone against the wall, breathing out a sigh. She bit her lip, looking over at Natasha and Yelena. "Let's get out of here, yeah?"

Walking out of the store, Yelena looked over at Natasha. "She's rooming with Captain America?"

Shrugging, Natasha walked her walk away. "Beats me."

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"What the two of you experienced was psychological conditioning. I'm talking about chemically altering brain functions. They're two completely different things. You're fully conscious, but you don't know which part is you." Throwing her hands up in the air, Yelena sighed. "I'm still not sure."

"I'm sorry. I never had to go through that when I was there." Kat stood up, walking over to Yelena's side. She crouched down, helping her wrap her cut arm.

"Is that all there is left?" Natasha pointed at the vials of red liquid, what Kat had determined to be the cure for mind control.