The Shadow

Chapter 8

Alexei closes the 'jet' door, and makes his way to the front, as he mutters something I don't quite catch. To Stand behind Natasha and Yelena, who are now both sitting in the front. I take a seat as far back from them as I can, and watch their conversation.

"I'm so proud of you girls." Alexei says, before realizing he can't hear them with their headsets. "Oh, you can't hear me, huh?"

I watch him out on the headset out of the corner of my eye, as I pull out one of the many encrypted phones I've had throughout my life. I smile as I see Yelena punch him in the face from her seated position, and how Natasha doesn't even react.

I quickly inform Fury of the actions, or crimes, we had just committed. And when I look back up, Yelena is using her hands to assist in explaining how the Red Room sterilizes their widows.

"They kind of just go in and they rip out all of your reproductive organs. They just get right in there and they chop them all away."

Alexei's face, I assume, is pure disgust as his demeanor is telling me.

"-So you can't have babies."

"Okay, okay! You don't have to get so clinical and nasty!" Alexei exclaims.

"Oh, well, I was about to talk about fallopian tubes, but okay." Yelena sounds almost disappointed that she can't continue.

"No. No. You're gonna tell us how to get to the Red Room." Natasha starts, straight to business with her.

"Huh. Whoa, look at you, huh? All business." Alexei asks, and I fight the urge to smile at the fact that we had the same thought.

"Trust me, this isn't pleasure." Natasha sarcastically comments.

"Little Natasha, all indoctrinated into the Western agenda." Alexei jabs.

"I chose to go west to become an Avenger. 'Cause they treated me like family." Natasha says, and it slightly gets me thinking about John and Luca, but I quickly shake that off.

"Really? Family? Well, where are they now? Where is that family now?"

"Tell me where the Red Room is." Natasha ignores his questions.

"I have no idea." Alexis mutters out. "Okay."

Natasha takes off her headphones and makes her way to sit opposite Alexei, swiping his headphones off as she does.

"Come on, you and Dreykov were like-"

"Dreykov!" Alexei exclaims, cutting Natasha off.

"Yeah." Natasha mutters.

"General Dreykov, my friend, huh? Gives me glory..."

"Soviet Union's first and only super soldier. I could have been more famous than Captain America. Then he buries me in Ohio on that stupid mission. Three years! So tedious, boring me to tears. No offense, huh? Then puts me in prison for the rest of my life. Why, huh? Why? Why would he put me in... You know why? 'Cause maybe I want to talk about the withering of the state. Or maybe I don't like his hair or something and I say something casually about that. Maybe, you know, I want the Party to feel actually like a party instead of this sourpuss organization. But instead, no. He puts me in prison for the rest of my life. He just runs off and hides, huh? I'm not even the one who, uh, you know... I'm not the one who killed his daughter."