Red Room / 𝐧. 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐟𝐟 & 𝐛. 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬

#1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, or the places, but the plot is mine.

Natasha's POV

The Red Room was a place where they took young women, and turned them into assassins. We were trained in hand to hand combat, acrobatics, weapons training and tactical skills. Sometimes, 2 girls were chosen to go up against each other. To win, you had to kill the other. We'd watch movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to give us messages: of pain, and fear. It was to brainwash us. At night, while we slept, our hands were tied to the bed frames, so we couldn't run away.

We also took ballet lessons, where we had to repeat the same routine over and over again, to make us unbreakable. Then, there was the graduation ceremony. The girls would undergo a surgery to make sure we could never have children. Family was a weakness, and we couldn't worry about them if we were on a mission, so it was easier to not have a family.

"You'll break them" I said to Madame B.

"Only the breakable ones. You are made of marble."

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Everyday was the same. We'd go thru the same routine, every single class was the same. It was so boring, and yet I wouldn't dare say anything like that aloud.

Today however, there was something different. One of the girls, was going to be chosen to go on a mission. A mission with someone. No one knew who, and we were all impatient to know who.

"...Two. Three. One, Two, Three. Keep up ladies." The instructor said. "Okay, stop, stop, stop. Take a quick break. Thirty seconds."

Madame B. came in and walked over to me. "I'd like to talk with you after, Natalia."

"Yes, Madame" I answered. What could this possibly be about? Maybe maybe she's assigning me the mission?

"Let's get back to it ladies. No mistakes. No more breaks." the instructor said strictly.

Madame B, is a supervisor of the Red Room program, and my trainer.

After class finished, I walked to Madame B's office. She sat in her chair behind her desk, while a man, maybe around the age of 25, maybe. It as hard to tell, because he had long, dark brown hair covering his eyes. He even had a metal arm. I'd heard of him, but I don't know where.

"Natalia, this is Agent Barnes. He's the person you'll be going on that mission with. You two, are gonna be out in the field for at least 7 months. You'll have to retrieve information about a possible threat... Once we have enough information, we'll tell you what to do." Madame B explained.

Oh, Barnes. Captain America's bestfriend before he died. I'd heard that they'd found him and kept him alive. This is gonna be interesting.

"Natalia, here's what you'll need for clothes, and there's a few weapons in there too." She said to me, handing me a bag. "You two have a train to catch. You're going on vacation"

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The soldier and I boarded the train, finding two seats near the back, but close to an exit. Just in case. I was wearing burgundy leggings, with a black leather jacket, and brown combat boots. The soldier was wearing jeans, a red shirt, with a brown sweater and leather jacket on top, covering his metal arm. He had a glove on his metal hand. He didn't look too bad. I blushed thinking that. We sat down, and I put my bag at my feet, looking out the window at the train station zooming by. I looked over in his direction, and saw him watching me.

"For the mission, we should get to know each other." He said looking right into my eyes.

"Okay, Barnes." I said. I definitely didn't want to start off the conversation.

"James. Call me James." He explained.

"Okay, James, what's you favorite color?" I asked, looking around us: a woman and a young child sat across from us, a man walked down the aisle, and passed thru the door at the back, a couple were putting their stuff into the overhead compartment, the steward was near the front of the car, asking people for their tickets.

"Blue, like a dark, navy blue. Yours?" James asked.

"Black." I said looking at him.

"That's a shade." He said, a hint of a smile on his lips.

You rolled your eyes and continued on. "What do you like to do in your free time?"

"You mean my non-existent free time? I'm not quiet sure." He said to me.

"You're not giving me a lot to go with." I said rolling my eyes jokingly.

"Okay then... I don't remember much from before Hydra. Sometimes I get memories from another time. I know that I was saved by them, and they made sure I didn't die. Even if they saved me, I still hate them for other things: like the torture, the pain, everything I've been put thru. I don't have a chance at a normal life, and it's not like it matters cause I'm a soldier who'll never get one. It's not like I have a choice though, because if I don't comply..." James stopped, it seemed like it was too hard for him to continue, and I didn't blame him.

To fill in the silence, I spoke. "There's not much to my story. I'm an orphan who was brought to the Red Room. I don't have a choice either, but I'm the top of my class, and they expect me to this amazing assassin. The thing is, I'm not sure that's what I want. I've always done things to impress people: like Madame B... But what if I want something else? To raise a family... We were taught that family was a distraction, and it didn't take much for all of us at the Red Room to believe that, because we were all given up, left." I took a sip of water and continued. "It won't matter after the graduation ceremony."

I sat there, and listened to the bustle around me. This had gotten really personal for two people who barely knew each other. For most of the ride, we sat there in silence, until I turned and spoke to him.

"So, tell me what the plan is."

"We have to follow a few different agents. Supposedly, it's like a relay race. One of them keeps the documents for a certain amount of time, until they hand it off to the next person. It can be months, to even a year before they hand it off. We have to get as much information about the documents, and send it back in to the boss. Then, we'll wait for orders. They may want us to steal them, or they'll get other people... Listen Romanova, this is your chance to prove yourself. Don't mess it up." James said looking at me.

"It's Natalia, and no pressure right?" I said smiling to him. he actually smiled back, and that was the first time he didn't look like some stiff soldier. He actually looked human.