Road to War Part II: Yes, Anastasia

Well, Happy Birthday, her blood's on my hands

When she got back to her hotel, she was not surprised to find a note waiting on her pillow. Get out of town, it said, with a phone number at the bottom. Maria's handwriting. She knew whose number it was. And she understood the warning. HYDRA was sure to want her dead, especially since she'd revealed herself. At Maria's behest. She sighed, and packed her bags.

As she walked down the street, she used a burner cell to call the number. It rang twice.

"Tasha."

"Clint."

"You okay?"

She smiled at the worry in his voice. It wasn't like him. "Yeah. You?"

"Well, you know, suddenly unemployed, but pretty good," he answered.

"You know where you're headed when you get out?"

He paused. "Not yet. But I can probably meet you in a few weeks. You know the place. It will take me a while to get there."

"That's fine, same here. Have to shake my tails. See you then."

"Be careful, Tasha. You could just stay with Stark," he suggested.

She laughed shortly. "He isn't that fond of me. But maybe when this blows over."

"You don't trust Stark to keep the assassins at bay?" he teased.

"I am familiar with his strengths," she replied diplomatically.

It was his turn to laugh grimly. "Good point. See you soon. Stay safe."

"I will," she promised.

She hadn't stayed safe, of course. She usually didn't. Clint knew that about her, and maybe she was a little reckless. But she met him at his farm at the appointed time, and enjoyed chatting with Laura and playing with the kids while they watched Clint fix things up. He never held still for long, and she wondered how Laura could put up with his infrequent visits. It was sweet to see him caring for his family, though, and she ached to consider how alone she'd be without him.

After this thought became pervasive, she made excuses to leave, and found Fury. He wasn't easy to find, but she managed. She spent her time doing small missions for him, hunting down HYDRA, and finding Steve to check on his progress. The Winter Soldier was proving himself to be as much of a ghost now as he had always been. She wondered if HYDRA might have found him, but didn't mention this idea to Steve. He was growing more and more haggard as he and Sam found nothing but dead ends, and she hated to see him that way.

When Thor came and they started searching to Loki's scepter instead, it was a welcome change of pace. For her and for Steve. Steve's motivations in searching out the last vestiges of HYDRA were certainly more expansive than her own, but it was good to be back with the team. Her assignment to Banner was an interesting development, and she undertook it with her usual focus. Until the whole thing became a much bigger mess than they'd yet encountered, and then she wondered again what she'd gotten herself into with this team. Even as it separated, leaving her and Steve in charge of the facility. She is very grateful it was Steve who stayed with her; and she can't help but be relieved that Banner left. The circumstances for that were not ideal, but she won't let it get to her. Not after the initial blow.

When things have taken on some semblance of normalcy, she asked Steve for a break. He can tell she needed it, and smiles gently at her in that way of his. So she left the Avengers facility for some alone time to get her head straight after all that's happened. She had been meticulous, travelled to quite a few different places before settling for close to a week in a small town in South America. How had she not noticed when a suspicious number of foreigners descended on her location? HYDRA had been careful, the agents they sent were able to blend in pretty well. But maybe she was getting sloppy in her old age.