𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐖, 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑━︎━︎ N. Romanoff (𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑑)

❝CHAPTER FIFTY❞

▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐲 ━︎━︎ 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 coffee shop, Olivia and Allison kept their guard up. They'd tracked their father for weeks, noticing he had a tendency not to stay in the same place for too long. Allison had almost questioned if he had changed his life around. There was no way he could be doing experiments if he was constantly on the move. But Olivia wasn't swayed. There had to be a place he stayed at for longer than two days, and when they found that place they would know.

"I think this is a dead end," Allison finally sighed. "We saw him packing his bags this morning. He's moving again."

Olivia shook her head. "No he's not."

"Liv. . ."

"Aren't you a trained assassin? Isn't it your job to recognize the signs?" Olivia snapped back, unable to hold back the rage that had been fueling her since they'd left Wakanda. Allison rose a brow at her tone. Olivia sighed, taking the last sip of her coffee before tossing a couple of bills on the table. "Just trust me." She stood and Allison followed. They made their way out to the car, sitting there for thirty minutes, their eyes watching their father that was across the street, talking to a citizen with a smile on his face.

"He's lucky I don't want witnesses." Olivia muttered. "I'd kill him right now."

"Why haven't you?" Allison asked, watching as their father, Alexander Jade, climbed into his own vehicle. "You've had plenty of chances to strike, but every time you've hesitated."

"I don't hesitate."

"Yet, he's still alive."

A muscle ticked in Olivia's jaw. She'd had multiple chances to take him out, yet she hadn't. She would always manage to find some sort of excuse. Why was she making excuses for the man that had ruined her life? It didn't make sense. She put the car in drive, following after their father. "It never felt right."

Allison scoffed. "Never felt right? Since when does killing someone ever feel right, Liv? What's going on?"

"I don't see you doing much either." Olivia snarled, her hands clenching the steering wheel. Olivia shook her head, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "I don't know, Alli. I'm just. . . I'm trying to do this right."

"We could just back out," Allison softly said. Olivia spared her a glance. "You know. We could just go home. You can go see the girls."

"I can't, and you know that." Olivia mumbled. "I don't even—" She stopped herself, hesitating to finish the sentence. "I don't even know where they are. They're seen as government property because of their powers. I'm sure Tony has them locked up somewhere. He knew they were staying at Clint's."

"Clint said he had it handled," Allison reminded her. "I haven't known him long, but what I do know is that he cares about you a lot and he wouldn't let anything happen to those girls. I bet you they're with him right now."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Olivia swallowed, coming to a stop at a red light and silently cursing when her father was getting farther and farther from sight. "He's a wanted criminal. If my kids are with him, there's a chance the government found his house and took them. I don't want that life for them. They deserve better. They deserve the chance to live. I'm no better than our mother."

Allison frowned. "Don't say that."

"It's true." Olivia felt her throat clench, fighting back the tears. "What kind of mother doesn't know where her own kids are?"

"You were trying to keep them safe, Liv."

"And what good has that done?" She pressed her foot on the gas, speeding up so that her father's car was in her eye sight once more.

The car was silent for a long moment before Allison decided to break it. "Do you regret rescuing them?"

"No," she answered without hesitancy. "Never. I love them so much. I just wish I could give them a better life."

"Olivia, this is a better life." Allison said with a laugh of disbelief. "They could still be locked up and experimented on, but you stopped that. You need to give yourself a little more credit." Allison sighed, leaning her head against the seat. "So, let's say worse comes to worse and the government did take them. I bet Tony swopped in and took them because he's on their side. I don't particularly like the guy, but I don't think he would do anything that would hurt those girls or would let anything happen to them. Who knows, maybe they're happily living with him in one of his many mansions, being fed, and clothed, and just wondering when their mother's are gonna come home."

"That doesn't sound so bad." Olivia managed, the smallest of smiles curling on her lips.

"What about Nat? Have you heard from her?"

Olivia shook her head. "No. She's been MIA since the whole thing. She's probably on the run too, seeing as she did let us go. If something was wrong, she'd find a way to contact me. I have to believe that."

"Liv," Allison hit her arm and Olivia watched the scene before her with horror. She'd been following him so blindly, she hadn't even realized they'd stopped. "What the hell's he doing?"

Olivia pulled her car to the side of the street, putting the car in park and climbing out despite Allison's protest. She kept close to the brick building, coming to a stop at the edge and peeking her head around the corner just in time to watch her father kidnap a little girl. The first thought that entered her head: where were these girls parents? The second thought: he'd found his next experiment.

Olivia walked back to her car, entering the vehicle and meeting her sisters eyes. "I just saw it, Allison."

"What?"

"I just saw him kidnap someone."

Allison closed her eyes. "Son of a bitch."

"He's still experimenting. Just like I told you he was."

"Okay, I was wrong. Sorry." They kept sitting there and Allison held out a hand. "Are we going to sit here and let that bastard get away with this again, or are we gonna go?" Olivia put the car in drive.