Changes (A Prequel to "Through, Together")

Bahrain

Bahrain was more beautiful than anyone expected it to be. Well, mostly everyone. Natasha had been to the country once before, but even she seemed to appreciate the aesthetic of it. The capital, Manama, was an impressive city with some pretty amazing architecture. It always amazed Steve to see the various steel giants that were erected all over the world. The Bahrain World Trade Center was one of those giants. Its two, triangular-shaped towers were linked by three skybridges, each of which were equipped with a wind turbine that helped provide sustainable energy to the building. It was sleek and beautiful, standing tall among the other buildings and city streets. They only saw it from the sky, as the Quinjet was just passing over downtown Manama, but it was still an amazing sight.

The Adliya neighborhood was slightly less glamorous. South of Manama, Adliya was without all of the glittering skyscrapers and glass-buildings. It consisted of smaller structures, slightly crammed together in a way that was oddly reminiscent of New York City, but with far more sand and dust. It was a very brown landscape, lacking in color and shade. Natasha and Sam piloted the Quinjet, circling it around Adliya and the surrounding areas in recon formation.

"What do you think, Nat?" Steve asked from behind her chair.

"See that big structure jutting out into the water on the southern coastline, there?" She pointed out. "That's the BASRAC container repair division. They've been known to have some shady operations in the past. Plenty of things moving in and out that shouldn't. And all those units floating in the water south of it?" She glanced up at Steve.

"Might just be the perfect place to hide someone." He surmised.

"I can get us landing clearance to that helipad to the northeast," Nat said. "After that, we'll have to hoof it down to the docks."

"A little exercise never killed anyone," Steve said. "Let's do it."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Natasha remarked with a grin.

The reference was lost on her target, but she saw Sam shaking his head in the seat next to her. At least someone appreciated a little pop culture. She let him take control of the jet while she worked on getting that clearance she was talking about. It didn't take much to hack into the flight organization system and mark themselves as some very wealthy, very influential people who would be landing their private jet on the waterside. Still, they had to be careful. There was an American Naval Base a few miles north that had some potential for trouble. Natasha had to think that Garrett was taking the same precautions to remain undetected. It was her hope that taking similar precautions would more easily lead them to where Garrett was holing up with Coulson.

"Sam, when we get this thing grounded, I want you to fly out and scout ahead. Take a look around BASRAC." Steve said. "See if you can any possible sign of Coulson, number of potential threats, exit routes; the works."

"Copy that," Sam replied with a nod.

"Wanda, you'll head to the docks with Nat and I on foot. Once we're in, we'll need you to keep an eye on the entrance, just in case Garrett decides to call in any reinforcements."

Wanda nodded her understanding. She was still working on getting a better handle on her powers, which meant they still had the potential to get out of control. The last thing any of them needed was for her to lose control on the middle of a floating slab full of storage units. The closer she was to land, the better it would be for all of them. Natasha felt bad for sidelining her like this. She felt even worse for the fact that none of them were equipped to help Wanda better understand or hone her abilities. She told herself that they would get her help, eventually. It was just another item to add to an already long list of tasks, though. The last thing she wanted was for Wanda to get pushed to the wayside. She was far too important, and far too powerful, a member of the team for that.