Requiem

The living memory

Natasha closed the door behind her and stopped. Irina was their new mission. They had to find and eliminate her. She found out after so many years that the girl who took her heart was alive and now she was supposed to kill her. All Natasha wanted to do right now was to crawl into a corner and cry. She won't do that, though. She made her way to the elevator and pressed the button to call it. It was late, she was so tired and she could feel the sleep slowly creeping out to her. She had been awake for more than 30 hours, not including the short time she was unconscious, but she had to give back the weapon she had in the case.

The elevator arrived and she pushed the button for the armory. She arrived and saw there weren't many people. She went to Karl who was on duty that night and gave him the weapon case.

"Please sign here and you are good to go," he said with a smile, handing her the log. She didn't say anything, she just signed her name and turned to leave. His smile faded a little.

"You good Agent Romanoff?" the spiky-haired man asked when she kept silent. She wasn't a loquacious person but she always had something to say when he was on the clock.

She stopped and turned to him. "Just a rough mission," she replied and left.

The first thing she did when she entered her room was to throw the backpack across the room and lie on the bed. She had her eyes closed but her mind was working. How were they going to find Irina? She left no trace, not even the cartridge of the bullet that killed Bennett. Bennett She opened her eyes. He was the key. She got up off the bed and changed her clothes. She put the suit in the washing machine and took off her bra. It feels so good, she thought. She put on some shorts and a shirt and went to sleep.

It usually didn't come easy to her and that night was no exception. She woke up a few times because of nightmares. Some involved her past life, the life of an assassin, and others, for the first time, Irina. One particular nightmare made her jump awake. She was covered in sweat and her heart was racing. She stayed up for a few minutes, her heavy breathing filling the room. She reached out with her right arm to take the glass of water that was always on her nightstand and guzzled it.

It was just a nightmare she said to calm herself, putting back the glass. A stupid nightmare that might as well turn real she grimly thought, looking at her right hand. She could still feel how cold the metal of the gun was, its touch so familiar. She could also still feel the recoil of her pistol when she fired it and how her heart bled when Irina fell with a hole in her head.

She looked at the clock and saw it was past three in the morning. She lay back down and closed her eyes. A few more hours and she would have to wake up again to start her day. To start searching for Irina. It proved to be difficult. She tossed and turned for half an hour but eventually, she managed to fall asleep.

Natasha preferred solitude and quiet, that's why she didn't go to eat in the canteen that often and when she did, it was because Clint dragged her with him. He kept saying something about human contact and socializing and that loneliness was not healthy. She called bull but he always insisted she came, so here she was again, at their table in the canteen.

"Natasha dear, stop playing with your food.", mocked Clint with a girly voice.

Nat stopped and looked up at him, scowling. She had been aware of his stare but refused to acknowledge it.

"I'm not hungry" and pushed away her plate.

Clint also stopped eating, ceasing his antics. "You didn't sleep, did you?" he said also pushing away his plate to focus on her.

She sighed "Not so much. I woke up a few times because of nightmares."

"About what?" asked Clint concerned