Red Winter

Chapter Three - The Rescue

The door of Natasha's apartment room slowly opens and Steve quietly walks in followed by Clint, Wanda, Sam and Bucky at the rear. 

The landlord said he didn't realize Natasha hasn't been in her unit for months. She rarely goes out, except for groceries. She's quiet and never bothered anyone and since she's paid for 6 months, there was no other reason for him to knock on her door. Sometimes he would actually forget that she's renting there. He adds that his encounter with her is like a seeing a ghost, it startles him for a second or two and by the time he's composed himself to approach her, she's gone, disappeared back into her room.

"Not a ghost, a spy. And god damn good one," Clint whispers to himself. Bucky hears his remark and couldn't help but smile in agreement.

Now that they're inside Natasha's room, they realize she almost did live like a ghost in there. Aside from the bed, side table, lamp, dresser, table, two chairs and a few appliances like stove, microwave, a small fridge and kettle there's almost nothing there. The only things that belong to Natasha were two black bags by the bed, a laptop and notebooks on the table, two to three t shirts and pants that hang on a makeshift clothesline inside the bathroom and basic toiletries by the sink. It reminds Bucky of his life in Romania before Steve found him.

"This is it? This is how she chose to live these past months?" Wanda's heart sinks.

Anger seeps back into Steve, blaming himself for letting Natasha fall into such circumstances.

"It's necessary," Bucky says, surprising them all. "She needs to be ready to run anytime." Clint nods in agreement while Wanda tries to shut her eyes because what she's seeing is making her cry.

"Laptop's still here. Some of her guns are still here," Clint observes.

"She intended to come back," Steve says. Only she didn't make it, Steve scolds himself silently and feels his jaw tighten again. 

He stands by the window and sees a perfect view of the mansion from there ---brick walls, red door, river at the back. On the sill he sees a coffee mug with a faint lipstick stain on its brim. Steve reaches for it and holds it carefully in his hand. He immediately puts it back down because he feels his guilt is tightening his muscles and he might break the ceramic in seconds. He looks back outside the window to hide the fact that he's trying to control his emotions.

Wanda, meanwhile surveys the groceries left on the counter --- canned peaches, a couple of chocolate bars, oatmeal, cereals and a bag of instant coffee among others. Wanda imagines Natasha rolling her eyes as she tries to tolerate the bad coffee and she cannot help but smile a little. She then moves to Clint who's inspecting the laptop.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Transmissions made from secure networks, browse history is clear, everything is encrypted just as it should be," Clint says with pride.

"Did you expect anything less?" Steve asks Clint with a smile. 

Clint smiles back. He leaves the laptop to Wanda and goes to inspect Natasha's bags. Wanda opens the only folder not secured with a password or encryption and discovers that it's Natasha's music playlist. She reaches for the earphones already plugged in and puts it on her ears. Wanda smiles, closes her eyes and misses her big sister even more.

Clint goes through Natasha's bag. One still has few of her guns and ammunition and the one has her personal belongings. He pulls everything out --- a few more shirts, socks, under wear, spare towels and a piece of folded paper. He unfolds it and sees a child drawing in crayons. He recognizes it as Lila's drawing of her and Natasha. The paper is old and a bit crumpled with the colors already faded. Clint tries to hold back his tears.