The lost Widow - Natasha Romanoff x Female

Chapter VIII

 "Come in!"
Almost all the Avengers were standing outside Fury's door. Steve had knocked and it was he who opened the door and entered the room first.
 "You're back," said Fury. "Hopefully not to tell me that 'something didn't quite go to plan'." His shoulders were broad as he sat enthroned behind his large desk. The glass top was almost completely empty, with just a small pile of papers in front of him and the screen slightly to his right, along with the keyboard. On the left was a small dark wood tray, two upturned lead crystal tumblers and a matching glass carafe filled with a liquid the same colour as apple juice. Steve was the first to speak up: "No. Everything went according to plan. We've got the stranger from the base with us now."
 "Well, that's something." Fury didn't look particularly impressed.
 "What do we do with her now?" Steve continued to ask. Fury looked up from the small pile of papers in front of him. "Has she already been questioned, who is she, who does she belong to?"
 "No."
 "Then it's obvious what to do now." It was clear to everyone that Fury had other things on his mind and wanted to get rid of her as quickly as possible. Natasha, who was slightly behind Steve, had also noticed this. But why? After all, she had attacked them, the Avengers, had infiltrated a Hydra base, which should have made her a target of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s interest. Still, Fury seemed to have no intention of dealing with it. "Right." Steve nodded, a little unsettled by the dismissive manner. "You said how were you supposed to inform..."
 "And that's been done. But until there's a suspicion that she's connected to something relevant to S.H.I.E.L.D., she's not our responsibility." Fury blocked immediately.
 "Accordingly, I would suggest that you stop wasting your time and take care of your prisoners instead." He might as well have thrown a rag in their faces. They all stood there speechless, as if ordered and not collected, while the headmaster seemed to be engrossed in his papers again.
 "Of course." Steve turned around and motioned for the others to follow him outside.

Natasha hesitated. She had always had a special connection with Fury, similar to Maria Hill, maybe he would tell her something. Because something was very wrong, that much had become abundantly clear. The door had slammed shut behind Tony. Natasha was still standing in the room. "Romanoff?" Fury's voice sounded a little softer, but he kept his eyes on the sheets.
 "What is going on?" And it was out, the question that had been on the tip of her tongue for days.
 "'What's going on'?"
 "Don't even start, Nick. It's really obvious." Fury looked up. For a moment he weighed up the likelihood of brushing them off, but there was a firm determination in Natasha's eyes. She would not leave the room without an answer.

Fury sighed.
 "S.H.I.E.L.D., there's a small problem, but nothing important enough to require the help of the Avengers."
 "What kind of problem is it that such a secret is being made about it?" Nat asked immediately. S.H.I.E.L.D. usually ran like a well-oiled machine, it was rare that there were any problems at all, but the fact that they were so urgent that Fury himself had to deal with them so intensively did not reassure her. "Something has been stolen. Something that is not only important for S.H.I.E.L.D., but that must not fall into the wrong hands under any circumstances." Now Natasha's ears perked up even more. S.H.I.E.L.D. stood for security, how could something be 'stolen'? "What was stolen?"
Fury sighed again. "What has Tony been working on for the last few months?" Nat frowned. Tony had been working on something for S.H.I.E.L.D., right. He hadn't left his lab for weeks and nobody had dared to disturb him. "A new kind of surveillance technology. But how could it just be stolen?" Fury slid uncomfortably back and forth in his chair, seeming uncomfortable with the subject. It was not easy for him to admit that the organisation had made such a mistake.
 "S.H.I.E.L.D. has the highest security standards, nobody can just come in here to steal something."
 The man grabbed one of the glasses from the plated tray and placed it on the glass before removing the thick glass cork from the carafe. It gurgled happily as he poured himself two fingers' worth. Wordlessly, he put the carafe back and the glass found a new place on the paper in front of him. Fury massaged his temple with his left hand; Nat had struck a nerve. "You're not on the outside either," he groaned. The Russian remained silent. "Yes, we were tricked, by people from our own ranks, that's why it went unnoticed for too long and now we have to do everything we can to get her technology back." A beaten man sat in front of Natasha. S.H.I.E.L.D. was Fury's life's work and something he was - rightly - proud of. An incident like this would throw the perfect picture into disarray and would cause major trust issues if it went public.

Natasha nodded slowly. That explained why it had been kept so secret.
 "Why weren't the Avengers informed? How can we help?"
 "Because it's something internal, we need to deal with it quickly but discreetly." He poured half his glass down his throat without comment. It wasn't apple juice. He grimaced in disgust and slammed the glass back down on the table. Nat was still staring at him. The coat and the light streaming into the room through the floor-to-ceiling windows at his back made him look dark and shapeless. She glanced at the papers. 'Confidential!' was all she could read on the top one. It was probably the contents of the folder Maria had had with her last time.
 "We could still help. And if this technology is in circulation, that's also important for us. How are they going to rule out the Avengers not meeting the thieves?" The rest of the whisky disappeared into Fury's mouth. "Because we won't let it come to that. My best agents are working flat out." He topped himself up.
 "We've seen how well that works."
 "We've got everything under control, Romanoff!" His voice had hardened. Rarely had he spoken to her in such a decisive manner. She nodded, that was as far as she would get. Everything seemed to have been sorted out and otherwise Fury would know best what to do.
 "Is that it then?" he asked again.
 "Yes sir."