Lost

Natasha

Several hours later, Emilia and Clint were sitting in the darkness. 

Waiting. 

Clint was up in a tree, scanning the area where they knew she was or had been, while Emilia sat hidden in plain sight, using a rather large black hoodie to hide the guns holstered on her belt. 

"You see anything?" Clint asked quietly. 

"Nothing but some evening fashion mistakes, including my own. Murder me on the spot if you ever see me wearing Uggs for a night on the town." She responded as she brought her warm coffee cup up to her lips and took a long sip.

"Agent Barton, Agent Parker, what's your status update?" Fury asked through both coms. 
"Nothing so far, sir, she's not easy to find." Clint responded before she could open her mouth. 
"It's almost impossible to find someone who doesn't want to be found." Emilia said. "I'm starting to feel like we're chasing our own tails with this one." 

Suddenly a flash from an abandoned warehouse on the waters edge caught her eyes and she stared until she saw another one. 
"Clint?" Emilia whispered. 
"Yeah?" Came the immediate response. 
"Did you see that?"

"See what?"
"The light, you dingus!" She hissed. "It came from the abandoned warehouse on the other side of the park. I'm going to investigate— it could be squatters but it could also be what we're looking for. Who we're looking for."

"Just in case, I'm right behind you. We're partners. We go into this shit together."

Emilia clenched her hand into a fist as she stood and all the lights in the park went out, leaving a clear and dark path for her to take. Finishing her coffee quickly, she threw the cup in a nearby bin.

She sprinted across the grass, silently wishing she would've worked a bit harder in gym class. Emilia still got winded rather easily, especially when she wasn't running on adrenaline.

When Emilia reached the door, she noted the broken padlock and the chipped paint from where it'd been forced open. 
The chips of red paint sat in the doorway, unbothered. . . Which meant that it was very recently opened. 

Emilia immediately unholstered one of her guns and slipped inside the warehouse. The inside smelled of mildew, oil, and the faintest hints of gasoline. It was one of those smells that made her wrinkle her nose and cringe. 

She was on high alert as she began going through the bottom floor. There were footprints in the dust, leading up to the second floor. 

Just as Emilia cleared the first three steps, a noise behind her made her whip around. Her gun was trained on a redheaded woman. 
It was her. 
She was young and beautiful, not much older than Emilia herself. 

"You found me." She said suddenly. 
"We did." Emilia responded. 
"I've been listening to you for hours. . . You and your partner argue like children but yet you'd so easily die for eachother."
Emilia adjusted her grip on her gun. "It's what best friends do. You do know what a best friend is, right?"

"Of course I do. . . Tell me, Agent Parker, why haven't you killed me yet?" She asked.
"You've not given me a reason to." Emilia admitted honestly as Clint slipped into the building. 

"Haven't I?" 
"No, you haven't. You did the things HYDRA designed you to do and while S.H.I.E.L.D. might want you dead, I don't think its a good idea to kill you."
"And why is that?"

"You have information we need, you want an out, and S.H.I.E.L.D. has a few positions open. One of them could be yours if you remove your weapons and come with us, you could be on the good side."

"Lower your gun, then."

-

"I send you out to kill a dangerous assassin and rather than killing her, you bring her to my base and expect me to employ her!?" Fury yelled at Emilia and Clint. 

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Emilia responded in a nonchalant fashion. 
"Her name is Natasha and she's actually really cool. She unfortunately doesn't trust us yet, she thinks we're gonna call up HYDRA and let them know we have one of their assassins."

Fury glared at them with his one good eye. "Don't tell her. One year, and if she shows any sign of betrayal towards S.H.I.E.L.D., I'll kill her myself. . . Am I making myself clear?"

"Crystal clear sir. . . Would now be a bad time to ask for a bigger apartment?" Clint wondered aloud and Fury sighed heavily, sitting in his chair with a huff.