𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐝 || 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘞𝘪𝘥𝘰𝘸 (1) ✓

𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧.

Revna's POV:

The jet landed and Natalia and I got off, the pilot telling us to give him a heads up on our way back so he could decloak the jet. The humidity stuck to my skin like air vacuumed plastic. I licked my lips, swallowing harshly due to the dryness in my throat. I tugged the collar of my shirt away from my throat some while Natalia and I began our mission.

My fingers caressed one of the thick green leaves next to me, the dew clinging to my fingers and I wiped it off on the back of my pants. My ears perked back when I heard the many sounds of the rainforest. This place was beautiful, a little slice of heaven on earth even though I'm sure there was more than one type of creature that could kill us. I wish Yelena was here to see this, I wonder what she would think about the view.

"Aren't there poisonous snakes out here?" I asked, pushing past some brush before I smacked myself in the face, looking around the peaceful scenery.

"Probably." Natalia shrugged, looking down at the small device the pilot gifted us to lead us to the correct coordinates.

I smirked, "You gonna suck the venom out of me if I do get hit?"

Natalia looked at me and rolled her eyes, letting a branch go, the thick trunk smacking my right in the middle of my nose and I hissed, glaring at her.

"I would rather let the snake bite me than even put my mouth anywhere near you."

"Wow, here I thought we were supposed to be partners." I huffed, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

"Stop talking and focus on the mission. Now keep your eyes open and let me know if you see anything."

I hummed, looking around for a few seconds while avoiding the mud on the ground. The last thing I wanted was to have the enemy spot us before we could spot them. I watched a monkey leap from one tree branch to the next, looking down upon Natalia and I from it's perch with curiosity.

"Well there's some trees, just saw a monkey. Oh, look, there's some more trees." I smirked, Natalia turning around so fast I missed it when I blinked. Her pale face had a light sheen of sweat covering it while her cheeks were a slight shade of pink, her baby hairs sticking to her forehead while her nostrils flared and her venomous green eyes looked like they could rival a snake.

"What? You said to let you know if I saw anything." I smirked, pissing her off even more as her jaw clenched in anger.

"You know what I meant! We're nearing the base and we could run into a patrol unit, or worse, something completely different and we need to have our guard up." Natalia hissed at me, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand as a small bead of sweat trickled down.

Third Person POV:

"You know what I meant! We're nearing the base and we could run into a patrol unit, or worse, something completely different and we need to have our guard up." Clint heard Natalia say, looking around from his perch on the tree, hidden by the cover of all the leaves. The archer had his bow drawn and aimed at them for added precaution, watching as Revna held her hands up in defense before they both kept walking.

"Director Fury, come in." Barton said over the com line.

"What is it, Agent?" Fury asked

"Two unidentified persons, sir. They seem to have the same mission I do."

"They HYDRA? Anything you can tell us about them?"

"I don't think they're HYDRA, sir. They said something about running into a patrol unit. One wore a catsuit with a black widow symbol and the other had a raven symbol. Shall I engage?" Clint asked, already strapping his bow to his back, getting ready to climb down the tree.

"Negative. Keep your distance and report back in. Good work, Agent. Fury out."

The connection cut out and Clint jumped down from the tree, using one of the vines to guide himself down before trailing behind Revna and Natalia. Clint couldn't help but wonder who these people were if they weren't HYDRA. What other secret organizations were there? They didn't look like they were a part of The Hand. Maybe they were undercover agents. Clint picked up on their Russian accents and wondered if maybe they were agents for the Soviet Union. Either way, Clint knew he had to keep his guard up and make sure they didn't fuck up his recon mission.

Revna's POV:

The rest of the voyage was silent, but it wasn't awkward. It was tense, one that was building the longer the both of us stayed quiet. Our movements died out when we peered down a small hill, a flowing river at the bottom.

"We should find another way around." Natalia said. I hummed, my eyes scanning around the area to see if there was a more promising trail, or at least a vine we could use to climb down. Even though the hill was small, it was steep and I wasn't in the mood to roll my ankle or something. My body tensed in my spot when I caught sight of a jaguar on one of the tree branches a few feet away from us. I softly nudged the redhead next to me, pointing towards the animal who jumped down to the forest floor. I heard her breath hitch before we both looked at eachother.

I sat down, my legs dangling over the edge of the small hill before sliding down, hissing when I felt something sharp knick my side. I yelped in pain, my body catching a rock and when I tried to slow myself down, I ended up tumbling down the hill and into the river. Panic set in and I gasped for air, sitting up just in time to have the jaguar lunge at me. My body was pushed back under the murky river water as I yelled, bubbles floating to the surface as I held the beast back as best as I could. Its sharp talon like claws dug into my shoulders, ripping apart my flesh as my blood began mixing with the water. The beast went limp in my arms and I used all my strength to push it off me, sitting up and gasping for air.

Looking next to me I noticed Natalia was here, helping me push the beast off me when I noticed there was a steel arrow in the jaguars neck. I scanned the tree line, the tops of the trees trying to spot where the arrow came from. The airs on the back of my neck were standing up and I didn't like being so exposed out here in the open.

"Come on, we need to move." I husked, getting out of the river and quickly taking cover in the thick trees.

"Are you alright?" Natalia asked. I nodded, seeing the outline of a large bunker base through the trees just up ahead, keeping my hand on my pistol just in case. The ginger placed her hand over mine and shook her head, "They told us not to engage."

I clenched my jaw and let my hand fall limp. We both made sure the coast was clear before we broke through the tree line, seeing no guards or any signs of activity within a few years.

"This place looks abandoned alright." I mumbled under my breath, hoisting myself up onto the roof of the bunker after climbing several things. I wiped the dust off the window and Natalia and I peered through, seeing no guards inside either.

"Ready?" I asked her and she nodded, helping me lift open the skylight before dropping in and me going in after her.

I took a step forward and as soon as I did, red lights began flashing and a blaring alarm went off. Looking down I noticed I hit a tripwire on accident, the many footsteps of HYDRA agents running towards us.