" Trained to be the greatest spy in the world since childhood, Natasha Romanoff is a former KGB assassin, an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and an Avenger... or at least, she was. After the events of Civil War, Natasha now faces a new wave of persecutions l...
It was already daylight in New York City, and the sunlight streamed through the windows of the room where Natasha slept in the borrowed apartment, arranged through what seemed to be a contact of Luke's, an old friend. Rousing herself, she responded to the incessantly loud alarm clock across the room by quickly getting ready and dressing in some of the clothes she had managed to acquire during her brief time in the city. Leaving the building where she was temporarily staying, Romanoff followed the GPS on the disposable cell phone she had acquired to reach the address given by Cage, lovingly written on a napkin from his corner bar. Finding herself before a typical old New York building, the Widow took a few more steps and knocked several times on the door... it was locked. There wasn't even a doorman or an intercom to call someone to let her in. Damn it. Even though forcing entry wouldn't be a problem, and she certainly had over a thousand ways to do so, none of them resulted in a subtle way to enter a residential building without attracting the attention of any neighbors or gossipers in nearby buildings; that was the problem with New York, everything was practically stacked on top of each other.
"Trouble with the lock?" a male voice said behind the redhead, who promptly turned to face the voice to see who it was. Looking him up and down, Natasha saw a man much taller than her but with no posture to speak of... his body slightly slouched, beard and hair unkempt, clothes dirty and worn. He looked more like a homeless person. Her look of suspicion was noticed by him, who quickly sought to dispel that perception from Romanoff's mind. "I've been saying... this lock needs fixing," he continued, his gaze unfixed, alternating between the woman in front of him and the door, although Natasha couldn't tell if it was a look of confusion or his usual gaze. "The people in the building don't listen to me, you know? But... don't worry. I... have my ways." Grasping the lock with both hands, after a series of movements and pushes on the door, it opened so that both could enter.
Heading towards the elevator, she observed the resident retreat to a corner of the metal box as it ascended. Another factor soon entered Nat's mind; the man exuded a strong odor from his clothes and breath... drugs, perhaps. She hadn't paid much attention before when he hadn't gotten off on her floor. A theory began to nag at Natasha's mind... was he one of Ross's agents? She knew she might be growing more skeptical as time passed since her escape from the Complex—Matt had made that clear—but she still had experience in the field of espionage and knew how spies behaved. Disguise was everything. Though she didn't keep her eyes fixed on the stranger, she kept her other senses tuned to his movements as they walked down the hallway. Her eyes, focused ahead, soon saw her destination displayed on the glass of the door at the end of the hallway. "Alias Investigations," was the name on Luke's napkin. Knocking on the door a few times, she was soon greeted by a woman almost her size, with black hair and clearly sleep-deprived dark circles.
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"Can I help you with something?" she asked, her tone dry, raising one of her eyebrows.
"I'm looking for Jessica Jones... private detective."
"What for, exactly? She's been pretty booked."
"I have a case for her. If you could tell me where she—"
"Do you have money to pay for the investigation?" she interrupted, glancing at Natasha's pockets, a movement that the redhead quickly noticed and responded to with a wad of dollar bills pulled from one of her pockets. "Well, your lucky day, you're talking to her. Come in." Stepping aside, she allowed enough space for the redhead to enter her apartment. With her view unobstructed, Natasha soon noticed her neighbor standing in front of his own apartment door completely mesmerized by... well, apparently the peephole of the door. "Um... Malcolm, Earth to Malcolm?" she repeated a couple of times, while climbing her fingers before the neighbor realized the neglect he had committed.
"Uh... oh, sorry there, Jessica. My bad. I just..." Looking around, he clearly proved he was completely lost there until he realized he was standing in front of his own home. Unlocking the door, he put part of his body inside while the other remained turned towards the neighbor at the end of the hall. "New client? She bumped into me at the door..."
"She bumped into you?"
"Yeah... completely lost."
"Hmm... sure, why not?" Malcolm clearly wasn't in the best position to make judgments, but even though she didn't fully believe his words, it was something she had kept in her mental note. "So, what did New York do to you?" Jessica asked, already inside the office, grabbing a drink and sitting across from the redhead.
"An old friend disappeared. I've looked for him everywhere and found nothing."
"Did you check where he works?"
"Yes."
"Checked with relatives or close friends?"
Natasha might not have delved into it further, but the previous day she went to Isaiah's sister's house, and she seemed normal for someone whose brother was reported missing. So...
"Of course. And he's gone."
"Tell me his name and give me everything you know..."
"Isaiah Ross... but I don't have much information about him. Just that he worked for a while at GLK&H and then went to Hogarth and Associates."
"So, he was a lawyer?"
"Yes... wait, 'was'?"
"Considering he's a lawyer, I'm not surprised he disappeared. A disappearance can mean a lot in that line of work."
"I know what it can mean."
"Hmm... right... and he worked for Hogarth, right? Look... I really would like to take your case but I can't." Jones had a brief history with the owner of the law firm where Isaiah worked, and she received a lot of bucks to cover her and the company's investigation cases. An employee mysteriously missing? It was certainly something she would send Jessica to investigate.
"I know it's not much but I can arrange if money is the issue."
"It's not about money, just... I don't know. I can't take the case. End of discussion, okay?"
"Alright... alright." Using persuasion techniques she had acquired in her training, Natasha stood up and walked towards the exit, but before opening the door, she turned to face the detective once more. "I came here because Luke recommended you. He seems to trust you, and Luke isn't the kind of person who easily earns trust. But I see it was a waste of—"
"Alright. Alright. You win. I'll take the case, but first, I'm going to verify your story." She said, picking up her phone and dialing Cage's number. After a few minutes of waiting while the call took place in the kitchen, the detective returned with good news. "Tell Luke he owes me a big favor. I'm going to lose some serious cash restocking to take your case."
"Thank you. I'll ask him to pass on the information I have next time you meet." Turning around, this time she headed for the exit with the true intention of leaving, but was interrupted by Jessica's question:
"Wait... you didn't even tell me your name."
"The person who needs to find you... that's all you need to know." With that, Natasha left the office with a thoroughly confused Jessica Jones behind her.
